The world’s amazing rate of change
Michael P. Duncan | TLT President's Report September 2019
It’s hard to keep pace, but STLE can help build skills you need to stay relevant.
Your cell phone has a million times the memory and 100,000 times the processing power than the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon in 1969.
© Can Stock Photo / michaeljung
Who would have thought that we would all carry a computer in our pocket that could answer all our questions in a micro-second? Perhaps the idea came from Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek in 1964. The Star Trek communicator was a fictional device used for voice communication and as an emergency signaling device/beacon.
Motorola was the first company to successfully make a phone call from a cellular device in 1973. Motorola’s Martin Cooper made the first mobile telephone call from hand-held subscriber equipment, placing a call to his rival, Dr. Joel Engel at Bell Labs. Names like Motorola, Nokia and Blackberry did a lot of the heavy lifting for the mobile cellular market, which now is dominated by Apple and Samsung. The cell phone in your pocket has a million times the memory and 100,000 times the processing power than the Apollo 11 that landed on the moon in 1969. 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G. We have come a long way from the telegraph!
Our companies are changing similarly, too, with an emphasis on hiring and training, since the Baby Boomer generation is well into the 50-plus age bracket. This is truly a global issue, with fewer people entering our industry than are needed, a shortage of skilled labor to replace those expected to retire in the next 10 years and people generally living longer. All this is happening while the world is changing so rapidly around us.
With this change comes uncertainty, but change is inevitable. In order to stay relevant in today’s marketplace, we all need to continue to learn, develop our skills and network. This should sound familiar, as Connect, Learn and Achieve is STLE’s mission statement.
STLE has a lot to offer, whether you are a student, early in your career, a rising star or an old dog like myself (politically correct term for people like me is “experienced”). The society’s education and networking offerings include the annual meeting, local sections, education courses, Tribology Transactions and TLT.
I am a staunch supporter of local sections because of the learning and connections one can gain by supporting their meetings and activities. Attending a monthly meeting can provide the necessary continued educational development and insight into our field.
In addition, local section meetings allow you to gain and maintain invaluable networking contacts (suppliers, customers and technical experts), which enhance your job performance and career. These include understanding relevant trends that impact your business; identifying alternative suppliers, manufacturing equipment, test equipment and test methods; exposure to new ideas; business opportunities; and markets for growth.
Local sections also are a great place to interact and get more involved in the society via committees and leadership opportunities. You can share and develop your skills in organizing an event, running a meeting, listening and communicating with others, preparing presentations, public speaking, delegating, settings goals and objectives, compromising, problem solving, financial responsibility, team building, recruitment, etc. All these characteristics make you a more valuable employee to yourself and to your company.
How are we going to provide the best tribological and lubrication solutions for the future? Continuous education, improvement and adaptability. Share this issue of TLT with a coworker in your organization who is not a member. Discuss some of its content with a coworker. Keep yourself relevant by learning something new each day, and maintain a constant connection to the industry. STLE can assist with education and connection.
Change is here so we might as well embrace it. I’m excited to see where the future takes us in tribology and lubrication engineering, whether it’s Star Trek’s transporter, The Jetsons’ flying car, Back to the Future’s DeLorean or an autonomous electric vehicle.
Mike Duncan is executive vice president of technology of Daubert Chemical Co. in Chicago. You can reach him at mduncan@daubert.com.