What does STLE mean to you?

By Jack McKenna, STLE President | TLT President's Report November 2024

I see STLE as a great intersection of commercial, academic and related entities.

STLE Past President Ryan Evans wrote very elegantly about finding your community in one of his presidential columns.1 I immediately identified with being a part of the local section community as I “grew up” in the STLE Chicago Section. One thing that I have often spoken to members about who I know and who want to become members is: What does STLE mean to me? By this I mean, what do I personally see as the purpose of our society? I see STLE as a great intersection of commercial, academic and related entities.

In the U.S. I feel that commercial enterprises don’t do a good enough job of creating an open line of communication to people in academia and government research institutions. I think our European and Asian members see a better line of open communication on these levels. Collaboration between industry and academia benefits all involved, and it benefits society at large, too.

I will however say that STLE provides an excellent platform for open communication for our members that have regular everyday jobs in any one of these areas. I have very much valued the time I have spent on the STLE Board of Directors and Executive Committee as I have had the opportunity to get to know, personally, fellow members and volunteers who come from very different work lives than the one I lead.

Working with STLE Immediate Past President Dr. Hong Liang both on the STLE Board of Directors and Executive Committee has given me great insight into the working life of a professor at Texas A&M University. She is one good example of the academic world that exists within our society, and having had the chance to get to know her has really only been made possible by our working together as leaders of STLE. By getting to know Dr. Liang I have been able to learn about what she is doing in groundbreaking tribological research. Through her vast network in the academic community globally, we within STLE have been able to pull in speakers who are willing and able to interact with folks just like you in the commercial world. If you would like to learn more about the future of our industry, get involved in any way you can. Come to the STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition, attend an STLE local section meeting, join an online education event—you might get to experience this incredible intersection personally.

REFERENCE
1. Evans, R. D. (2022), “Find your community in STLE,” TLT, 78 (7), pp. 6-7. Available at www.stle.org/files/TLTArchives/2022/07_July/Presidents_Report.aspx.
 
Jack McKenna is vice president of corporate accounts for Sea-Land Chemical Company located in Cleveland, Ohio, and is based in Elmhurst, Ill. You can reach him at jack.mckenna@sealandchem.com.