The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), and the Tribology Division of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) invite you to participate in the International Joint Tribology Conference to be held October 17-20, 2010 at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District in San Francisco, California.

For over 50 years, this meeting has brought together researchers from around the world, providing a forum for the exchange of new ideas and new technology and meetings between participants from academia, research laboratories, industry, and government agencies. The 2010 IJTC will continue this important function in a very popular location. The schedule includes technical sessions, special workshops and symposia and a Student Poster Competition. Of special note is the Leon M. Keer Symposium, honoring Professor Keer, Walter P. Murphy Professor at the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

We are pleased to report that the process for submitting the abstracts and manuscripts accompanying Technical Talks will be simplified. Authors will have a choice to submit only a short abstract for presentation at the meeting or to submit, in addition, a 2-3 page paper for inclusion on the CD. Abstracts and papers will be reviewed by the track chairs and may be returned for modification. The manuscript will still be in the form of 2-3 page (maximum) papers, however if the draft paper is acceptable, submitting additional drafts or a final paper will not be necessary. In addition, the copyright process is now electronic, making it much easier to receive copyright releases from authors. The deadline for submitting these papers is April 1, 2010. For your convenience, a template for the organization of the paper is available below. The submission and review process will be managed through the IJTC conference website and author center.

W. Gregory Sawyer to present Keynote Address on Tribology in Biology at 2010 IJTC Meeting
Greg Sawyer, PhD, Professor and Distinguished Teaching Scholar at the University of Florida will present the Keynote Luncheon Address during the 2010 International Joint Tribology Conference, October 18-20 at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District in San Francisco, California. Doctor Sawyer's topic is The Tribology in Biology.

According to Sawyer, The human body is an extremely complex moving mechanical assembly of living tissue, with a myriad of contacting interfaces that enable biological function and healthy life from a blink to a heartbeat. By-and-large engineering to date has provided metal and plastic replacement alternatives for biological systems in need of repair. Today there is substantial enthusiasm for regenerative medicine, gene therapy, and other biological alternatives to the current state-of-the-art in medicine. These new biological approaches posses numerous tribological complexities that are often associated with system level biological function. Exciting advances over the past decade enabled tribologists the opportunity to consider macroscopic interfaces in atomic and molecular terms. These developments have entailed ultra-low force measurements that are sensitive to the rupture of single chemical bonds and friction measurements spatially resolved to the level of individual atoms. The opportunity now exists to address the role of tribological action within biological systems, seeking to characterize, understand, and exploit, cellular interfaces and interactions on a molecular scale.

The tracks for the 2010 conference are as follows:

• Track 1 Nanotribology
• Track 2 Biotribology
• Track 3 Engineered Surfaces
• Track 4 Boundary Lubrication
• Track 5 Fluid Film Lubrication
• Track 6 Machine Components Tribology
• Track 7 Contact Mechanics
• Track 8 Magnetic Storage Tribology Track and Symposium
• Track 9 Manufacturing/Metalworking Tribology
• Track 10 Wind Energy Tribology
• Track 11 Leon Keer Symposium
• Track 12 Environmental Tribology Symposium (co-sponsored by the Chinese Tribology Institution (CTI)*
• Track 13 Student Posters
• Track 14 The Particle Tribology Symposium

San Francisco is often called "Everybody's Favorite City," a title earned by its scenic beauty, cultural attractions, diverse communities, and world-class cuisine. With easy access from all over the world, San Francisco offers a lot of opportunities to occupy your time, when you are not enjoying the educational and networking offerings of the IJTC.

We sincerely hope that you can join us in San Francisco for the 2010 International Joint Tribology Conference.

Kathryn J. Wahl
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
Chair
STLE/ASME Conference Planning Committee

^*The Chinese Tribology Institution (CTI), founded in 1979, represents the tribology research community in China. CTI members have distinguished themselves with an impressive record of accomplishments that are enabling the science of tribology to play a valuable role in confronting the technical issues and problems that affect all people worldwide. STLE has joined in partnership with CTI on a number of occasions, most recently at the CIST 2008 symposium in Beijing. The joint symposium planned for the 2010 IJTC is the latest effort by STLE and CTI to create and expand relationships between tribology researchers in both countries and from around the world.

Author Center
There is no requirement to submit a manuscript to one of the three journals (ASME Journal of Tribology, Tribology Transactions, or Tribology Letters) for inclusion in the Conference. Submission of a manuscript to one of the journals is encouraged, however, all decisions regarding acceptance for presentation at the Conference, and for inclusion in the Conference Proceedings, will be based on your abstract and, if submitted, the 2-3 Page Paper, following the IJTC format, that you submit through the Conference web site. Please visit the Author Center above to begin the process of paper submission.

Template for 2-3 Page Papers
A template for the 2-3 Page Papers in MS Word format is located above.