A chilly visit to Florida
By Kevin Delaney, STLE President | TLT President's Report April 2026
No matter the weather, the 2026 STLE Annual Meeting in New Orleans is shaping up to be another good one.
At the end of January, the STLE Board of Directors had a meeting in Jacksonville, Fla. I live in Connecticut, and the temperature there was in single digits (Fahrenheit), and had been for several days. I was looking forward to some warm sunny weather—if only for a weekend. I looked at the weather report for Jacksonville, and there were all kinds of warnings about cold weather. The temperatures were listed as being in the 30s and 40s, and I scoffed at the lack of hardiness these Floridians must have. When I got there, it turned out that the wind chill (which I had neglected to consider) was in the single digits. Additionally, the hotel seemed to be relatively unprepared for this cold snap. Our meeting room on the second floor of the hotel was registering a brisk 62 degrees. That may not sound so bad, but it was pretty uncomfortable to be sedentary for that length of time—the coffee cooled off quickly. I had a meeting at another hotel in Orlando, and the first floor, where their restaurant was located, featured waitresses wearing down jackets. I can’t wait for summer up north!
Hopefully May in New Orleans will be better, but no matter what the weather, the 2026 STLE Annual Meeting there is shaping up to be another good one. In keeping with the location, we have secured a keynote speaker, Justin Van Tries from TotalEnergies Lubmarine, who will be talking about marine engine lubrication with alternative fuels. There won’t be a fun run this year, but instead we will have wellness sessions featuring yoga and Pilates—all levels of experience or lack thereof are welcome, and all equipment will be provided—even if you don’t have yoga pants. Proceeds will go the STLE NextGen fund, so maybe that gives you a reason to give it a shot and help invest in the future of STLE.
The Art of Tribology is returning for 2026, and this year it will be a contest. Attendees can vote on their favorite submission, and the winner will be featured here in TLT. Other special programming includes a town hall style event on the topic of tribology data and an OEM panel discussion. This is in addition to the networking opportunities, education courses and technical presentations attendees keep coming back for each year—including some presentations in collaboration with FVA, Germany’s premier collaborative research association focused on drivetrain engineering.
I hope to see you in New Orleans.
Kevin Delaney is global sales director for the Petroleum Group at Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC, based in Norwalk, Conn. You can reach him at kdelaney@vanderbiltchemicals.com.