The objective of this grant is to facilitate the mission of the National Science Foundation by hosting a workshop dedicated to understanding the future needs of industry in matters related to the discipline of tribology. Intellectual Merit: Tribology is considered an enabling science in that its lessons contribute to the development of new products and processes in all industrial sectors. It is envisioned that the proposed workshop will bring together visionaries from industry, academia, and government agencies in order to i) identify research opportunities that can be applied to encourage sustainable, societal and environmentally-responsible economic growth; ii) develop a network for channeling useful information towards industrialists, policy makers and the public; and iii) stimulate research in new fields of tribology (e.g., nano-structured materials, molecular dynamics modeling, smart materials and surfaces, etc.) Broader Impacts Research in the discipline of tribology has promoted the modernization of industry, and has a strong impact on resource (energy and materials) consumption through quality improvements and efficiencies. This workshop will provide knowledge of value to continuing this trend.
