STLE Tribology Frontiers Conference
Robert D. Heverly | TLT President's Report February 2014
We’ve given our traditional fall meeting an all-new focus on solving the critical technical issues of tomorrow.
If you’re interested in exploring how emerging tribology research will impact tomorrow’s critical societal issues, I urge you to consider participating in the TFC.
TO SUCCESSFULLY LEAD IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING WORLD, organizations like STLE must think about things the right way. But it’s equally important that we think about the right things.
Last year STLE’s board of directors implemented a far-reaching and comprehensive strategic plan that ensures the society is thinking about the right things—critical points where tribology will impact the pressing technical issues of tomorrow. The plan includes a strong emphasis on emerging technologies and future directions in tribology.
In addition, we commissioned McKinley & Associates, a top-rated market-research firm based in Chicago, to interview various segments of the STLE membership to gain further insights into tribology’s future directions. From that directive was born an all-new member service—the 2014 STLE Tribology Frontiers Conference. The event is Oct. 26-28 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill., which abuts the great city of Chicago. If you’re interested in exploring how emerging tribology research will impact tomorrow’s critical societal issues, I urge you to consider participating in this meeting. (Note: the traditional fall IJTC meeting will not take place in 2014.)
The board tabbed Dr. Jeffrey Streator with the Georgia Institute of Technology as conference chair. And we have an all-star lineup of STLE volunteers to serve as session chairs. As you can see from the following list of sessions and chairs, the TFC is taking a fresh approach to the tracks you’re used to seeing at our fall conference.
1.
Tribology: Advanced Methods (Dr. Daniele Dini, Imperial College of London)
2.
Tribology: Micro & Nano Scales (Dr. Ashley Martini, University of California Merced)
3.
Tribology: Macro Scales (Dr. Daejong Kim, University of Texas at Arlington)
4.
Tribology: Medical Applications (Dr. David Burris, University of Delaware)
5.
Tribology: Natural Processes (Dr. David Burris, University of Delaware)
6.
Tribology: Energy Economy & Sustainability (Dr. Aaron Greco, Argonne National Laboratory)
7.
Tribology: Tribology in Manufacturing Processes (Dr. Daniel Nelias, INSA-LaMCos).
The conference has a different feel, too. Sessions are 20 minutes long instead of our traditional 30. That means we can offer up to 140 presentations daily. We’ve also invited some of tribology’s visionaries to speak, and we’ve arranged the schedule so their presentations are non-intersecting.
Two other elements are worth noting. First, the TFC is designed to be student friendly. If you’re a professor, the TFC is a great way to give your students the experience of presenting at a world-class tribology conference. If you’re with an STLE corporate member, the TFC lets you meet the next generation of scientists entering the field of tribology research and lubrication engineering.
Second, while a published paper is not a prerequisite to presenting at the TFC, STLE is partnering with the respected peer-reviewed journal
Tribology Letters. You have the option of submitting your research for a special issue of Letters dedicated to the TFC.
Despite these changes, the TFC continues three great traditions of an STLE fall conference— great research, unrivaled professional networking and an idea exchange unmatched only by our annual meeting.
You’ll find more information on the conference and directions on how to submit abstracts at
www.stle.org. Why not jog over to the site right now and check it out?
The Tribology Frontiers Conference ushers in a new era in STLE conferences—and we want you to be part of it. I’ll look forward to seeing you in October.
Representing the Houston area, Rob Heverly is a technical sales representative for Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC, in Norwalk, Conn. You can reach him at rheverly@vanderbiltchemicals.com.