The passing of a legend
Dr. Ali Erdemir | TLT President's Report August 2016
H. Peter Jost was the founding father of modern-day tribology and brought leadership and support to our field.
From left to right: Peter Jost, Kenneth Holmberg and Ali Erdemir at the 50-year celebration of the Jost Report held March 2 at Buckingham Palace.
EARLY IN THE MORNING ON JUNE 7, the world tribology community lost one of its greatest voices and public faces—professor H. Peter Jost, who passed away at the age of 95. This was a very sad day for all. Earlier I had heard from a few friends that he recently suffered a mild illness and was hospitalized, but I never imagined a mild illness would take him away in such a hurry.
Professor Jost was a legend of our time and the founding father of modern-day tribology. He assumed the patronage and leadership mantle of our field as the president of the International Tribology Council, which has long served as an umbrella organization for the broader tribology community in the world.
He was most credited for his acclaimed Jost Report to the British government, issued in March 1966, which documented that annually more than 500 million pounds (£500M) could be saved through the adoption of advanced lubrication and tribological practices. This also was the report in which he coined the word tribology in uppercase letters with a clear-cut definition: “TRIBOLOGY is the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion and of the practices related thereto.”
Peter was an outspoken advocate of tribology at every conceivable stage, forum and organization. He unequivocally attested to the significant cost savings, quality of life, energy and environmental benefits that tribology can bring to humanity. He was so adamant and unwavering in his commitment to the field of tribology that today multiple professorships and centers of excellence in the U.K. are named after him.
On March 2 Immediate Past President Martin Webster and I were invited to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Jost Report. Ceremonies started at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers with a short welcoming reception and then a series of speeches commemorating the scientific advances that tribology has brought to our life. Peter also took a turn to re-emphasize that what had been said 50 years ago is still valid today—in fact, more so than before as the impact of tribology on energy, climate change and sustainability has become much clearer.
At the gala reception hosted by HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace, both Martin and I had a rare moment to chat with Peter. As always, he was very sharp, eloquent, humorous and also thankful that we could join the celebration. A little later I had another rare moment with Peter, this time with a dear friend, professor Kenneth Holmberg, with whom I published a paper dealing with global energy consumption due to friction in cars. This joint paper, of course, was inspired by Peter’s original report and personally encouraged by him in Kyoto, Japan, at the 2009 World Tribology Congress. Our discussion with Peter was very pleasant and cheerful due to his rare sense of humor and extraordinarily rich personality, but when the discussions shifted to the more serious topic of tribology, again he was very resolute and resilient in his convictions.
Peter was cherished and revered by the world tribology community, which immensely benefited from his patronage and benefactor role in tribology. He was truly a founding father whose legacy will live with us for years to come.
On behalf of the entire STLE family, I respectfully extend our deepest sympathy to his family and the world tribology community. He will be missed immensely.
Ali Erdemir is a Distinguished Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill. You can reach him at erdemir@anl.gov.