Paths of Least Resistance

Tribology -- the study of friction, wear & lubrication -- affects us all. In the 21st century, tribology will impact all aspects of our health, wealth and livelihood, in devices as diverse as engines (great and small), computers and replaceable body parts.

The 2002 Tribology Gordon Research Conference, true to the spirit of “frontiers of science,” will identify the most important problems in this interdisciplinary field and present the most powerful methods for solving them. It will do so by choosing the best speakers, topics and discussion leaders; by balancing lectures with ample discussion time; by promoting person-to-person interactions with both poster sessions and informal tutorials. It will bring together practicing engineers with topical concerns, basic research scientist and newcomers to the fields within Tribology.

Today’s frontiers of Tribology will address tomorrow's problems. How do nanometer-thin molecular films influence lubrication? Do the same rules of friction and wear apply to both soft and hard materials? Can we connect mechanisms that operate at short time and length scales (picoseconds and nanometers) with friction and wear events that occur in seconds over millimeter length scales? How might length scales affect tribological properties, and will nanoscale devices operate like larger components made of the same material? Can multi-asperity contacts be modeled with sufficient detail to account for friction and wear behavior at scales ranging from MEMS devices to earthquakes? And, to return to the initial contention, how can Tribologists make an impact on manufacturing, on the environment and on the quality of life (e.g., improving the mobility of the elderly)?

Most investigators work on very specific problems, like a mechanism associated with resistance to motion. They perform computer experiments with tools like molecular dynamics simulations, or create friction and wear machines that probe surface and interface, lubrication, deformation, fracture and wear behavior. A few (but not many) investigators have taken a more global approach and looked for general principles that describe the path(s) of least resistance; they use mathematics that chooses the optimal path. At this conference, each of the speakers will be asked to consider how a principle like “the path of least resistance” might aid in understanding a specific problem of resistance to motion or friction or wear. In addition, the attendees will be challenged to find a global formulation applicable to their own research, in both basic and applied Tribology.