20 years of excellence
By Rachel Fowler, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief | TLT Publisher's Pen October 2023
TLT celebrates this important milestone by continuing to provide high-quality content.
I’ve worked on TLT for almost nine years now, which is a small amount of time compared to TLT’s entire existence. The first issue of TLT was October 2003—back then I didn’t even know about the term
tribology. Instead of TLT being a part of my life, it feels like I’m just a small part of its life.
To this day, when I explain to people what I do, I usually get asked, “What’s tribology?” My favorite reaction from a new friend recently was complete silence for a few minutes. Then suddenly, she said, “I’ll be honest—I don’t know what that is, and I thought about pretending that I do.” I’ve learned that tribology truly is everywhere in our daily lives, and I like sharing the topic with people who don’t know about it. It’s a fascinating topic that everyone should learn about.
Many STLE members see tribology in their everyday lives at home and at work in the industry. It’s important to them, and they help make everything around us function. One of my favorite parts of the job is going to the STLE Annual Meeting and meeting those who have contributed to TLT. It’s nice to talk to members in person and thank them for their hard work on TLT and with STLE.
It’s still exciting seeing the next issue in my mailbox each month, knowing I had the opportunity to contribute to this incredible work. This wouldn’t be possible without STLE members, great writers, TLT Technical Editors, the four TLT Editors who have helped run the magazine up to this point and the hardworking staff. Thank you for all of your support on this great publication. TLT wouldn’t function without such great people.
TLT was created 20 years ago to aid in the technical education and professional development of STLE members and industry colleagues. The article ideas come from STLE members and TLT Technical Editors who volunteer their time, knowledge and experience to help create this great content. I’ve had the privilege of editing feature articles, lubrication fundamentals, columns, interviews and more for nine years now, and I’m still learning something new in every issue. I can see why STLE members are interested in the subject. There are so many different topics to choose from: bearings, additives, grease, gears, metalworking fluids, automotive, wear, oil analysis—to name a few. You can never stop learning about tribology and lubrication.
It’s been an honor and a privilege to work for TLT. And thank you to our readers who have stuck with TLT for 20 years. Here’s to celebrating the 40th anniversary of TLT 20 years from now in 2043.
You can reach TLT publisher/editor-in-chief Rachel Fowler at rfowler@stle.org.