This award will provide partial support for attendees of the 2008 Gordon Conference on Tribology: Advancing Interfacial Science & Engineering to be held 6-11 July 2008, Colby College, Maine, USA. Tribology is the study of friction, wear & lubrication. It is an extremely complex and multi-disciplinary field that involves processes over a wide range of size and time scales. The biennial Gordon Research Conference on Tribology is a unique forum for gathering experts in disparate fields to advance our understanding of the complex problems tribology presents. Leading scientists and engineers from universities, national laboratories and industry meet with young scientists and newcomers to tribology for one week of formal and informal discussions on state-of-the art issues. This opportunity for a lively and open exchange of new ideas shapes the future of the field. Some of the most difficult and compelling challenges in tribology concern the nature of the buried interface where surfaces slide past each other. The 2008 Gordon Conference will emphasize fundamental new approaches for revealing the physics, mechanics and chemistry of these interfaces.
Tribology has a critical impact on all aspects of our quality of life, health, wealth and livelihood. Controlling friction and wear can either inhibit or enable technological advances from non-ferrous engines to body prostheses and from micromachines to nanotechnological devices. The 2008 Gordon Conference will emphasize phenomena at buried interfaces. New fundamental understanding of these interfaces will have a profound impact on tribological applications in many industries. The Gordon Conference is a key mechanism for linking the basic sciences with an engineering discipline of significant importance to the U.S. and World economies. Tribology advances require a constant flux of new ideas between these researchers and disciplines. The conference also provides opportunities for young investigators, students and those new to tribology to learn from those with a deep understanding of tribological problems and cutting edge approaches. This proposal focuses on providing support for conference fees and/or travel expenses that will enable key participants to attend the Gordon Conference. We will strive for gender balance and also favor under-represented ethnic minority or disabled individuals that apply. Support from this grant will play a particularly important role in allowing attendance of students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty that would otherwise not have funds.
