What tribology?

Tribology

Tribology is the study of friction, lubrication, and wear of interacting surfaces in relative motion. Although it has been around for centuries, it formally became a new field of science in 1967 by a committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [1]. "Tribology" is derived from the Greek word "tribos" which means rubbing or sliding. The word has nothing to do with the "the study of 'three' (3) types of sciences", as many non-tribologists perceive.

Because the field is highly multidisciplinary, it is quite diffuse, Students in mechanical engineering, material science, chemistry, and chemical engineering might not get exposed to it at the undergraduate level. Additionally,  nanotechnological devices are experiencing "proof of concept"-preventing problems due to frictional interactions in nanoscale interfaces. Thus, tribology professors have begun to see new researchers entering their classrooms. From a mechanical engineering perspective, most of our PFTL students fall in the area of "Thermal Science/Fluids".

1.)  Stachowiak, G.W., and Batchelor, A.W, Engineering Tribology,  Butterworth Heinemann, Inc., Boston, 2001.