Joseph Padovan (14 April 1943 - ) is a retired University of Akron Distinguished Professor known for pioneering finite element procedures for analysis of rolling tires.
[2] Padovan joined the University of Akron Mechanical Engineering faculty in 1970.
He developed the first finite element procedures for the analysis of steady state rolling.
[4] He was an associate editor of the journal Tire Science and Technology for 36 years.
[5] In 2003, he famously was the last Tire Society speaker to present his work on an overhead projector.