Martin joined STLE in 1989 and has been an active volunteer and dedicated leader, Hunter told the STLE Presidents Luncheon audience May 19. I know the society is in great hands under his leadership.

Webster recalled attending an STLE international joint tribology conference in Florida in the fall of 1989. With this STLE experience, I quickly found myself presented with work and organizing sessions. Without realizing it, I came to value participation in these large meetings. He recalled beginning to attend local STLE section meetings, learning more about topics outside his immediate research interest and going on regularly scheduled trips to visit companies involved in the industry.

He said STLE is in the second year of a long-term strategic plan, which includes several key roles for the society. One of our roles is to improve the expertise of technical professionals – thats basically the membership we broadly represent, Webster told Lube Report. The second one is we would like to be one of the leaders in the effort to advance innovation in tribology and lubrication engineering.

As an advocate for tribology and lubrication engineering, Webster noted that the role of STLE is to help improve the expertise of technical professionals, which speaks to the various educational events the society sponsors, including education courses, and CLS exams and qualification. Were continually trying to improve those, he noted. The society is also seeking other avenues to provide education, Webster noted, whether via its web site or through publishing.

Webster said under each of these roles, the society is developing a number of projects. Over the course of the next few years, well be announcing as we roll out specific things, he added.

He noted that STLE restarted its Tribology Frontiers conference a year ago. The goal there was to try and identify trends in technology and try to bring in people from diverse backgrounds and different areas, Webster said. We really want to generate a culture of innovation.

In developing its advocacy role, he said, one thing STLE has done on occasion is make its annual meetings guest speaker an honorary member of the society. When we get people in a very high public profile position, its nice to have them speak on your behalf, he said, noting the STLE board agreed in a meeting after the annual meeting in Dallas to make keynote speaker U.S. Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanshyn-Piper, a former astronaut, an honorary member of STLE.

According to STLE, Webster received his bachelors and masters of science degrees in aeronautical engineering, and a doctorate in tribology from Imperial College in London.

Prior to joining Mobil (now ExxonMobil) in 1989, he served as a post-doctoral intern at Shells Thornton Research Centre and later worked two years developing wind turbines for Taylor Woodrows Wind Energy Group in the United Kingdom. He has held various positions in research and product development at ExxonMobil, including leading the lubrication science research activities conducted at ExxonMobils corporate strategic research laboratory in Annandale, N.J.

Webster joined STLEs Executive Committee in 2012, serving one-year terms as treasurer, secretary and vice president.

Other STLE officers elected to 2015-2016 terms include vice president Ali Erdemir, of Argonne National Laboratory, secretary Mike Anderson of Falex Corp., and treasurer Greg Croce of Chevron Products Co.