A truly singular event
Peter Dreschsler | TLT President's Report February 2011
STLE’s 2011 Annual Meeting is where you can gain a year’s worth of technical information in five days.
Where else can you meet and interact with the most brilliant minds in the world?
STLE’s 66th Annual Meeting & Exhibition is just around the corner. This year we again are sending the registration brochure in digital format only. Starting this month you will receive an e-mail with the brochure, which contains links to both the meeting and hotel registration, followed by at least two more announcements. This information is on
www.stle.org 24/7, as well.
This year’s annual meeting is in the Peach State of Georgia, May 15-19 at the Hilton Atlanta in downtown Atlanta. We are anticipating another successful meeting and expect to meet or exceed the 1,200 lubrication professionals and tribology researchers who attended our 2010 conference in Las Vegas.
There are 400 world-class technical presentations from which to choose, as well as 10 education courses taught by recognized experts in the field. New courses this year include “Metalworking Fluids Hot Topics” and “Biofuels and Lubricants.” Also on the technical program is the Commercial Marketing Forum where you can catch up on the latest and greatest products, technologies and services offered by the companies that service the lubrication and tribology needs of our members.
The annual meeting would not be complete without the exhibition where you can see, touch and fully experience the latest products and services from STLE’s Corporate Members. Exhibit sales are running ahead of pace of last year’s show, which sold out. If you are interested in displaying, please contact sales manager Tracy Nicholas VanEe at (630) 922-3459,
tnicholas@stle.org.
Speaking of STLE’s Corporate Members, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the annual meeting would not be such a great success without their generous sponsorship and support. As of this writing, most of the meeting’s big ticket sponsorship items are spoken for, but there still are many sponsorship opportunities left. If you have not done so already, please consider a sponsorship, and remember no donation is too small. Again, please contact Tracy VanEe for details.
STLE’s conference is the industry’s premier event where you can learn technical information from world experts and enhance your professional development. This would not be so if not for the hard work of STLE’s Annual Meeting Planning Committee. This group of volunteers, led by 2011 chair Daniel Nelias, has done an outstanding job in assembling the technical program. While planning a meeting the size of STLE’s is a Herculean task, the AMPC has created a comprehensive and detailed technical program, so if you happen to run into Dan or one of the many meeting volunteers, please congratulate them on a job well done.
I cannot think of a better place to keep abreast with the latest advancements in the field of lubrication and tribology than STLE’s annual meeting. Besides all of the technical presentations and education courses, the opportunities for networking are outstanding. We even have a student poster competition, which very quietly has become an integral part of the meeting. The student papers are so good that we are publishing them on a regular basis in TLT.
As you prepare for this year’s event, please keep in mind that you can save $80 on the meeting fee by registering by April 15. The Hilton Atlanta also is offering a discounted rate if you make your reservation by April 15. But keep in mind that rooms are still assigned on a first-come, first-served date, so the rooms in our block could be gone by that date. With the upswing in the economy, we expect this year’s event to fill quickly, so act now if you plan to attend.
STLE truly is a singular international event. Where else can you meet and interact with the most brilliant minds in the world, see new products up close and develop the kinds of professional contacts and friendships that can last a lifetime?
Looking forward to seeing you in May.
Peter Drechsler is a senior tribology specialist with The Timken Co. In Canton, Ohio. You can reach him at peter.drechsler@timken.com.