Our society’s grassroots
By Dr. Hong Liang, STLE President | TLT President's Report April 2024
STLE local sections provide valuable networking opportunities for members to build relationships.
Members of the STLE Houston Section celebrate winning the Outstanding Section Award at the 2023 STLE Annual Meeting.
STLE’s local sections are the grassroots of our society. Local sections are the foundation upon which our membership is built and the backbone of our community. Local sections encompass all members, local groups at the basic level of activities and engagement, meetings and technical exchanges, outreach and fundraising and more. Local section activities are often initiated from volunteers who are spread globally. How many local sections does STLE have? Here is the whole list: Alberta, Canton, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Hamilton, Houston, Lower Ohio River Valley, North Texas, Northern California, Oklahoma, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle - Tacoma, Toronto, United Kingdom and Virginia Sections— 17 total. Which section or sections do you belong to?
Local sections involve individuals who actively participate in ground activities, advocate for society enhancement and work to address issues and concerns of local versus global communities and small versus large. The grassroots of STLE include individual and corporate members of a diverse mix of researchers, educators, consumers and suppliers from a variety of employers who represent both technical and marketing interests. Grassroots activists and advocates are those who care about perfecting motion, energy saving, efficiency and environment. They are passionate about innovation and its impacts on the environment and sustainability, as well as community development. Grassroots are based on the dedication and commitment of volunteers who contribute their time, skills and resources to support local section initiatives, organize events and facilitate dialogue and collaboration among all members. Grassroots are professionals, experts and practitioners in the field of tribology and lubrication who share knowledge, expertise and resources to promote education and awareness, and empower individuals to face various technical challenges. Grassroots care about the society’s future by participating in fundraising and providing mentorship and support to new members and students. Overall, the grassroots of STLE represent the collective efforts, aspirations and voices of individual and corporate members and local sections, working together to address shared challenges, advocate for new technology and build stronger, more resilient communities from the ground up.
Local sections are the foundation of our society. Each year, STLE recognizes two outstanding sections at the STLE Annual Meeting for their outstanding achievements in providing leadership and services to their members. The sections distinguished themselves by consistently holding technical meetings, generating monies for scholarships and in many other ways delivering STLE services at the local level. In 2023, the Philadelphia and Houston Sections took the honor for the prestigious awards. These strong sections have dedicated volunteers providing strong leadership, broad and/or in-depth educational content and appealing activities. Those are important factors in developing and maintaining good section health.
STLE local sections have made an impact on the career growth of almost all our individual members. They provide valuable networking opportunities for members to build relationships. Such engagements open doors to career opportunities, mentorship and support networks. Participating in local section activities often involves developing skills such as leadership, communication, problem solving and teamwork. It provides new opportunities contributed to professional development and advancement in various career paths. Additionally, local sections play a significant role in advancing the field of tribology and lubrication. The local meetings, workshops and seminars enable members to exchange ideas, present findings and discuss emerging trends and challenges in tribology.
As we can see, local sections encompass a wide range of activities aimed at promoting knowledge sharing, fostering community engagement, advocating for sustainability and driving innovation in lubrication science and technology. Participants rely on the collective expertise, passion and dedication of those committed to advancing the field of lubrication for the benefit of society and the environment.
What activities have you been involved in for your local section? For more information, visit
www.stle.org/localsections.
Dr. Hong Liang is Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. Professor of the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. You can reach her at hliang@tamu.edu.