Tribologists go for gold in France
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report February 2020
The 7th World Tribology Congress promotes scientific exchange on an Olympian scale.
Since transportation is among the topics tribologists will discuss at the 2021 WTC, it’s fitting that many attendees will finish the trip to Lyon, France, via high-speed train.
The Summer Olympic Games begin in a few months, but remember that the tribology world’s premier quadrennial event also is on the horizon.
On Sept. 5-10, 2021, the 7th World Tribology Congress (WTC 2021) takes place in Lyon, France. Lyon (pronounced LEE-awn), is a city of more than two million people known for its historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
WTC Steering Committee chairs, Philippe Kapsa (Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France) and Philippe Vergne (INSA Lyon, France), represent the two internationally recognized centers for tribology research based in the city. They are joined by more than 30 tribology researchers from Europe, Asia and North America serving on the Scientific and Organizing Committees.
Details are available at
www.wtc2021.org, but here is a description of the event’s focus from its organizers:
“The 7th World Tribology Congress in 2021 unites a large scientific community to promote international exchange and collaboration. This international event: (1.) highlights recent important progress in many fields of tribology, which are very complex due to their multidisciplinary and multiscale features, (2.) challenges our limits concerning the control and tuning of tribological systems, (3.) ensures the effective transfer of these skills to specific applications, including biomedical, transport and manufacturing processes and (4.) integrates environmental issues into the societal challenges that tribology research faces.”
STLE supports the WTC through involvement on the 28-member International Advisory Board and as a member of the International Tribology Council (ITC), which selects and assists the WTC host organization. STLE Past President Ali Erdemir, a Distinguished Fellow and research scientist at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, is president of ITC.
As part of its commitment, STLE is joining other tribology societies in Europe and Asia to organize a Young Tribologists Symposium intended to energize the next generation of tribologists. It will build on the success of a similar event held at the 2019 International Tribology Conference in Sendai, Japan. Watch for more details on plans for the symposium soon.
Even though WTC 2021 is still 18 months away, there are two important issues STLE members should think about now.
The first is the imminent deadlines associated with program planning for this major international event. Abstract submission opens next month and closes in October. Conference registration begins in September.
The second point is that travel to Lyon is not at all difficult. From the U.S., participants can fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and then complete the trip to Lyon in less than two hours via high-speed train. Access to Lyon also is quick and direct from such major European cities as Barcelona, London, Milan, Frankfurt and Geneva.
WTC began at the 1997 conference in London. Since then the event has moved to Vienna (2001), Washington D.C. (2005), Kyoto (2009), Torino (2013) and Beijing (2017). For more than 20 years the conference has allowed tribologists to play a major role in energy, sustainability, health, the environment, transportation, communications and other critically important societal and technical issues.
The 2021 WTC in Lyon builds on this tradition as the global scientific community moves into a new decade. STLE encourages all members to be a part of this event.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.