2010 Gordon Research Conference on Tribology

2010 Gordon Research Conference on Tribology
“Challenges at the Buried Interface”

June 27-July 2, 2010

Colby College

Waterville, Maine

Chair: Mark Robbins, Johns Hopkins University, mr at pha.jhu.edu
Vice-Chair: Alfons Fischer, University Duisburg-Essen, alfons.fischer at uni-due.de

IF you have any questions, email us

Information about attending this Gordon Conference will be available in 2010 at this location and at http://www.grc.org/.

Goals of Meeting

Tribology is the study of interacting surfaces in relative motion and encompasses the fields of friction, lubrication and wear. It impacts nearly every aspect of our daily lives and is essential to technological applications with moving parts. Tribology is by nature a highly interdisciplinary field. Researchers address atomic interactions at sliding interfaces and earthquake dynamics on faults. Applications include improving car engines, hip joints and cosmetics, shrinking devices to micro- and nanometer scales, and expanding the range of temperatures, speeds, and chemical environments where devices operate. The Gordon Conference on Tribology has a long tradition of bringing together researchers with a wide range of backgrounds, techniques, and applications for lively discussions and exchange of new ideas on how to address the complex problems tribology presents.

Many of the great challenges in tribology require an improved understanding of the buried interface that transmits forces between sliding solids. The chemistry and geometry of bearing surfaces and any lubricant between them play a critical role in friction and wear, but are difficult to access experimentally and evolve with time and sliding distance. The 2010 Gordon Research Conference will focus on new experiments, theories and computer simulations that further understanding of the buried interface. One focus of the meeting will be new experimental observations of the buried interface and calculations of its geometry and dissipation mechanisms. Other talks will address methods for controlling and optimizing interfacial properties and lubricants. Studies of the mechanisms biological organisms use to control tribological processes at the buried interface and medical applications will be presented. Invited speakers will represent the forefront of fundamental and applied research in a wide range of disciplines at universities, government laboratories and industrial laboratories. Their presentations will be complemented by lively interactions through programmed discussion sessions, poster sessions and informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings. These forums will facilitate cross-fertilization between fields and exchange of new ideas in an open, collegial atmosphere.

All attendees are encouraged and invited to present a poster on their current research. If time permits, we will repeat our “Light Speed” oral poster preview presentations.

Note: All talks include ~20-25 minutes for Discussion

If you would like to be added to the mailing list for future information on this conference or know someone else who would be interested, please contact the Conference Chair, Mark Robbins.

For information on the SITE (pictures below) see: Colby College