Collaboration and innovation

By Rebecca Lintow, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report July 2025

STLE offers a unique opportunity for connection and collaboration with your peers working in other sectors.
A group of smiling people sitting at a table during a conference.
One of the things that makes STLE so special is the broad representation of its membership: the STLE community includes leaders from industry, academia and research labs, and from all experience levels, from students through those with 50 years of experience or even more. When these perspectives come together, we find new opportunities for growth and innovation. This was evident at the recent annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga., where 1,500 professionals of the STLE community came together for five days to connect, learn and achieve with the peers they may not otherwise meet in their day-to-day work.

The collaborative environment of the annual meeting gives STLE an opportunity to connect with the various segments of its membership, recognize them for their achievements and hear their feedback on how we can continue to serve their needs. The exhibition and Commercial Marketing Forum presentations provide the corporate side of the STLE community with a platform to showcase their latest products and services. We recognize excellence in research through the STLE publishing awards and the student and early career poster contest (now called Robert Erk Presentation Awards). Our industry awards celebrate the highest levels of technical and volunteer achievement, and the scholarship and early career awards programs help to support the upcoming generation of leaders in our field.

The student and new member reception was an excellent example of how experienced STLE volunteers are committed to the future of the tribology and lubrication engineering field. This year, the event was planned specifically to encourage mingling among the attendees, with a seasoned volunteer assigned to each table. Networking opportunities are an important piece of the annual meeting and STLE’s value proposition, and this event was a success in facilitating valuable and diverse connections for our newest community members. 

The Career Pathways Panel also highlighted the multifaceted backgrounds of STLE leaders and guided early career individuals through working in industry, academia, government and even entrepreneurial endeavors. The lively question and answer session showed the engagement of our industry’s leaders as well as its newcomers. We hope that these two events provided our student and early career attendees with a warm welcome to the community and an exciting look at the wide range of opportunities ahead of them.

STLE’s commitment to serving all sectors of its membership is also evident in its board of directors. Our newest directors come from a mix of industry, academia and government research, ensuring that we remain well-rounded in our representation and invested in collaboration to serve the needs of all members of our community.

Collaboration is a powerful tool, and when we bring our talents together, we can work more effectively to improve efficiency, save resources and innovate for the future. STLE is proud to be the bridge that facilitates collaboration between the sectors our membership works in. The annual meeting is only one example of how we put this into action—be sure to check the events page at www.stle.org/eventsoverview for upcoming opportunities to connect with the broader tribology and lubrication community, no matter which sector you work in.

You can reach Certified Association Executive Rebecca Lintow at rlintow@stle.org.