STLE encourages future tribologists
By Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report July 2023
There were many winners in the 2023 STLE Annual Meeting poster competition.
The student and early career poster judges (from left to right): Stephen Berkebile from the U.S. DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Matt Kirsch from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, John Curry from Sandia National Laboratories and Jianjun Wei from LANXESS.
Ten individuals were recognized as winners in the latest version of STLE’s popular Student and Early Career Researcher Poster Competition, held during the 2023 STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Long Beach, Calif.
These winners took home cash prizes of $100, $200 or $300 for the top category, but that’s only one part of the story. STLE and the tribology community also were winners in the effort to recognize and support the next generation of tribology and lubricant industry professionals.
Dr. Robert Erck (Argonne National Laboratory), STLE member volunteer who organizes the poster judging, reported that there were a total of 42 eligible student posters and three eligible early career posters presented, coming from more than 17 universities in 10 states, and from four nations.
“The posters were all of excellent quality and represented the hard work of both the students and their professors. The poster contest was excellent training and encouragement for these students’ scientific careers,” according to Erck.
He was assisted by four other STLE members
(see photo) who served as judges for the competition. “They did an outstanding job in evaluating the posters, and they spent many hours talking to the students and the early careerists to make the difficult decision of which ones should receive the top awards,” Erck says.
In total, 141 students attended the 2023 STLE Annual Meeting. That represented about 10% of the total of 1,394 registrants.
Students and educators with a focus on tribology have several more upcoming opportunities to share their work with the STLE community. There is still time to submit a poster for the STLE Tribology Frontiers Conference (TFC). It takes place Nov. 12-14 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Registration for the TFC, which is co-located with the 2023 STLE Tribology & Lubrication for E-Mobility Conference (Nov. 14-15), opens this month. TFC posters can be submitted at
https://2023stlefrontiers.abstractcentral.com through September. The TFC is designed for industry, academic and government researchers to engage with thought leaders from around the world and explore the role the science of tribology can play in solving future scientific and societal changes.
STLE also sponsors Scholarship and Fellowship programs that are open to undergraduate and graduate level students. The application submission period runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1. Recipients will be recognized at the 2024 STLE Annual Meeting and will have their research published in TLT in 2025.
The 78th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition will take place May 19-23, 2024, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn. (USA).
Thanks to these programs, STLE now has about 250 student members, about 8.5% of total membership. Student members are full-time undergraduate or graduate students in an accredited academic institution majoring in physics, chemistry, engineering or other related technical or scientific disciplines. Student membership is $30 annually and provides a substantial discount on conference registration in addition to other benefits.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.