H. Peter Jost, U.K.-based president of the International Tribology Council, welcomed delegates the 5th World Tribology Congress in Turin, Italy with the assertion that tribology, the key science in the war against friction and wear, has the potential to boost employment in the United Kingdom alone by 300,000 or more.

New materials and new technologies are cascading upon the world, Jost told the Congress opening session, but their tribological benefits often are not recognized by potential users. Tribology, he reminded, is the study of interactive surfaces in motion, and today it has blossomed into such new fields as ecotribology, biotribology and nanotribology.

The contributions from tribologists in academic and other research settings continue to grow, but industry often does not keep up, Jost contended. There is a gap between creators and users of new technologies. To remedy this, many tribology societies are working hard to reach potential users.

Chinas tribology community, for example, issued a detailed report in 2008 that included three key conclusions. First, it recommended formal and continuous education in tribology. Second, it urged innovation in approaching new technologies. Third, it urged tribology support of the development of new technologies and equipment.

The problem, said Jost, is persuading users – industry and governments – to apply new technology to increase efficiency, energy savings and, yes, employment. Basic research transfers to applied research and technology, but the weak point is obtaining industry acceptance of the work done by scientists.

Perhaps the best way to reach industry, said Jost, is to demonstrate the real cost of tribological failure. He urged the worlds tribology organizations to hold meetings devoted to failures, damage and their costs that could have been prevented if known tribological knowledge were applied.

Experience would suggest that [demonstrating] the real cost of tribological failures [is] very effective, he said. The advantage of this approach is that no reasonable thinking industrialist wishes to produce or not prevent costly failures. Fear of failures has been found useful in making potential tribology users aware that many problems can be avoided, Jost noted.

Jost suggested that International Tribology Council societies consider holding meetings with user industries, devoted solely or primarily to failures, damages and showing costs that could have been prevented had known tribological knowledge been applied. Such occasions may be difficult to arrange, but their effect can be very persuasive, he said. Direct links to the financial aspects of costs and damages often speak louder than references to figures of national savings expressed in terms of GNP or GDP.

There is one further aspect to our work, Jost continued. It is to make governments aware of the influence of tribology on employment. The relation of gross domestic product to employment is complex, and an investigation showed the totality of reduction of friction and wear does not in itself affect GDP. What it can do is increase net domestic product.

U.K. data, Jost said, show that reduced friction and wear on the scale he envisions could add to nations economic well-being to an extent that would result in additional people being in the workplace. Jost claimed that improvements in the net product of the workplace would translate to an additional 300,000 to 350,000 in the U.K. Workforce.

Jost also pointed out that tribologists often have difficulty persuading users to turn new knowledge into real-world applications that would help increase productivity and competitiveness, and ultimately resulting in greater employment and energy savings. He suggested that achieving these ends requires us to be fully aware of the routes of tribology from its basics to the final goals of productivity, competitiveness and profitability.

One route by which tribology customers awareness can be met to enable them to improve productivity and profitability is shown in the diagram. As with any product, promotion is required, but more often than not, it is underestimated by many scientists, Jost said. Fortunately, the cost of tribological promotion is generally very small and its beneficial effects can be very large. Promotion of the benefits of tribology is important, if not essential.

Applied research in tribology, Jost concluded, is a good investment. It saves energy, benefits the environment and adds people to the workforce.