What a year!
Dr. Ali Erdemir | TLT President's Report June 2017
Increasing awareness and interest in the tribology community was among STLE’s many 2017 accomplishments.
Being president of STLE is one job that I will revere and cherish for the rest of my life.
BACK IN MAY 2016 when I assumed STLE’s presidency, I was both honored and intimidated, not knowing what may lie ahead. Leading a great society like STLE is not trivial for one thing. Second, I had to show grace and live up the high standards that my predecessors have set as they were finishing their terms. However, there is a saying that
the very first step you take in doing something is almost half way to doing it.
Being surrounded by so many great volunteers, thought leaders and highly professional STLE headquarter personnel, this has indeed turned out to be the case for me. If I have to look back and reminisce a bit, I cannot believe it has already been a year since I received the presidential gavel from Immediate Past President Dr. Martin Webster during last year’s 71st STLE Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Since then I am very proud to report that we have witnessed many great things in our field. Sadly, we also grieved over the passing of professor H. Peter Jost, a forefather figure for the world tribology community.
On the happy side, we have witnessed an unprecedented increase in interest in tribology. In fact, last year STLE broke all-time records in attendance, technical content and exhibitor’s participation at the Las Vegas annual meeting and then again with the Tribology Frontiers Conference in Chicago. In particular, we have seen a surge in international participation from all corners of the world at these events. This renewed interest in tribology also was very evident during visits to other tribology gatherings in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
To keep this momentum soaring, STLE is partnering with several global tribology associations in training and education as well as workshops and technical meetings. For example, STLE has put its muscles behind promoting the 6th World Tribology Congress in Beijing, Sept. 17-22, where, in collaboration with the Chinese Tribology Institute, we will host a full-day educational course and a young tribologist’s forum. All indications are that this world event will be one of the greatest of its kind with more than 1,000 technical presentations and posters. In keeping with our strategic plan process, STLE also has taken part in several other events in Latin America and Europe, especially with well-crafted training and educational activities.
Our efforts in advancing the goals of our strategic plan also have accelerated during this past year with tangible results. If you log onto the Members Only section of
www.stle.org, you will see a wealth of educational materials available to self-educate, refresh or further enhance your knowledge of tribology and lubrication engineering. As part of our educational efforts at the grass-root level, we intensified our activities in STEM at the undergraduate to postgraduate levels. With the help of our academic volunteers, a number of new student chapters are now in place. STLE, together with its local sections and corporate members, have been supporting these efforts by offering several awards and scholarships to deserving students from numerous high schools and universities.
It is hard to believe that it’s been some 30 years since I began my journey into tribology. This happened as the result of sheer curiosity while pursuing my graduate studies at Georgia Tech back in the 1980s. I never could have imagined this curious step would one day take me to the presidency of this great society. Also, ending this presidency in Georgia where that curious journey began 30 years ago, is totally miraculous. Thanks to the help and support of many peers, friends, sponsors and family members, this has been a tremendous journey for me. I have enjoyed every step of it, and the many great opportunities that came along the way helped me achieve my career objectives in a big way. In simple words, it has been a high privilege and great honor to serve STLE all these years at different capacities.
In closing, I must thank my close colleagues on the STLE Board of Directors and Executive Committee for their unwavering help, support and great friendship throughout this past year. Volunteers are the real unsung heroes of our society, and I must sincerely salute them for what they do year after year. It was equally honorable to work with the fine and resourceful staff at STLE headquarters. They really keep our society moving forward day in and day out.
In particular, I cannot thank Executive Director Ed Salek enough for his help and guidance (and great friendship, which I hope will continue). I also must acknowledge the enthusiastic support and understanding of my family and the management at Argonne National Laboratory. This has been one job that I will revere and cherish for the rest of my life. Our next president, my good friend Michael Anderson of Falex Corp., will undoubtedly do a fantastic job and will bring our society to new highs in multiple levels as he takes the helm. Thank you all again.
Ali Erdemir is a Distinguished Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill. You can reach him at erdemir@anl.gov.