March milestones
By Rebecca Lintow, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report March 2024
On its 80th anniversary, STLE celebrates the past and looks toward a bright future.
STLE executive director Rebecca Lintow (left) and STLE President Hong Liang.
There are many things to celebrate this March. First, STLE is celebrating its 80th anniversary on March 3. For a little history, STLE was founded in 1944 as the American Society of Lubrication Engineers (ASLE) and officially changed to the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers in 1987. The first STLE Annual Meeting was held in Chicago in 1946. Only two annual meetings in STLE’s history were canceled because of World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic. There are three previous anniversary publications that you can read at
www.stle.org/AnniversaryBooks.
Anniversaries are a good time for organizations to look back on what has been accomplished but also look forward as time has changed. Over the years, STLE has developed education, publications, committees, certification programs and more to keep pace with industry needs. STLE will continue to look for ways to evolve through the STLE Strategic Plan as it focuses on professional development, technology and innovation, communications and advocacy and organizational excellence. More information is available at
www.stle.org/StrategicPlan.
Special events are being planned for this calendar year (e.g., highlights at the STLE Annual Meeting, May 19-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn.; special merchandise; and more). Stay tuned for more information on this.
The second celebration for March is Women’s History Month. This month commemorates and encourages the study, observance and celebration of the vital role women have in history. It’s important to highlight the many contributions of women throughout history. STLE has had four female presidents who have served one-year terms—Mariam Juves (1991-1992), Selda Gunsel (2003-2004), Maureen Hunter (2014-2015) and Hong Liang (2023-2024). This year marks the second time in history STLE has had both a woman executive director and president at the same time. It’s been an honor moving up to the STLE executive director role and working with STLE President Hong Liang this year. STLE has many prominent, woman members that have made significant contributions to the field.
To honor the achievements of women in the field of tribology and lubrication, STLE is releasing a special publication titled STLE Women in Tribology and Lubrication: Perspectives From Leaders in the Field. This book features interviews and insights from 10 prominent women in the industry. These women have made significant contributions to the field of tribology, advancing our understanding of friction, wear and lubrication in various contexts. This publication is available to download for free on March 1. For more information, see this month’s Publisher’s Pen column and visit
www.stle.org/womenintribology.
We invite the whole STLE community to join in these celebrations. You can use the social media tag #80YearsInMotion to share your favorite STLE memories and your hopes for our community’s future.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Rebecca Lintow at rlintow@stle.org.