Walking the walk.

Like Yogi used to say, "It's like deja vu all over again." Akron, which has been trying to shed the mantle of "Rubber Capitol of the World," is at least acting the part. If the city is not talking the talk, it's at least walking the walk.

Last month in the Rubber City, the Rubber Division, American Chemical Society, held its "new look" spring meeting, which coupled a thermoplastic elastomer conference with the usual fare. The Rubber Manufacturers Association was also in Akron with a symposium on rubber sourcing and mixing.

Unfortunately, the TPE conference and the RMA symposium were on the same day. Better communication between the groups could have avoided that conflict.

These are the types of inconveniences that were prevalent when Akron boasted of being the center of the rubber industry. Even though tire manufacturing is history in Akron (Goodyear remains the only major tire manufacturer to keep its headquarters here), the area is awash in rubber related activity. Bridgestone kept the Firestone research facility in Akron, and the area still has numerous product manufacturers, materials suppliers and some of the world's foremost testing and development labs. The recent purchase of Rapra by Smithers Scientific Services might make the city leaders revisit the rubber moniker. Akron also has the University of Akron.

The university has been a central cog in the development of the rubber industry, not just in Akron, but worldwide. Back in 1909, when it was known as Buchtel College, they offered the world's first courses in rubber chemistry. The university was instrumental in the development of synthetic rubber in the 1940s.

Currently, the university's polymer science and polymer engineering program has 34 full-time faculty and more than 200 graduate students. U.S. News & World Report rates it as the second best in the U.S. This is a real achievement considering Ohio's dismal record of funding higher education. Much of the credit for this program goes to retiring Dean Frank Kelley who was in his position for 28 years.

This August, UA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its inaugural Ph.D. program in polymer chemistry. More than 1,000 doctoral degrees have been bestowed in that time. The cooperation between the university and the rubber industry is a model for industry/academia partnerships.

Picnics, parties and symposia will be featured for three days, and the university would like to see as many of the 1,000 doctors back for the festivities. Akron might want to shed an image, but you are what you are.