Professional recognition of Tribology

 I flew to London this morning and felt quite secure in the knowledge that the engineers responsible for the baggage handling system would have had their own box to tick! On the other hand, those responsible for the hydraulics, fuel and braking systems on the plane, as well as the majority of its manufacture, would have had to type in their own entry on the form, like I have done. Professional home for life, indeed!



This particular discussion is probably better continued in a different forum.



Tribology is a hybrid discipline not widely taught at undergraduate level and often hidden behind the scenes of modern industry and given a number of different labels. On the other hand, its principles underpin pretty much every aspect of our modern lives from transport to food production and artificial joints.



I think the aim of defining a particular competence base for tribology would be beneficial for society. If the IET took the lead on this, it could extend its influence into a host of mechanical and manufacturing related disciplines where it is currently absent. I suspect there may be a strategic niche there, ready for the IET or another institution to exploit. I have in mind a particular quotation by the chairman of the Indian tribological institute, which I found a few years ago, in which he referred to tribology under-pinning that country's nation-building activities. In post-industrial countries, we would find equivalent value from a similar focus on energy-saving and improved quality of life. The bottom line is that any way of maintaining professional engineers' motivation would be beneficial to the profession. Engineering is fundamentally a hard way to make a living, wherever we live.

 I flew to London this morning and felt quite secure in the knowledge that the engineers responsible for the baggage handling system would have had their own box to tick! On the other hand, those responsible for the hydraulics, fuel and braking systems on the plane, as well as the majority of its manufacture, would have had to type in their own entry on the form, like I have done. Professional home for life, indeed!



This particular discussion is probably better continued in a different forum.



Tribology is a hybrid discipline not widely taught at undergraduate level and often hidden behind the scenes of modern industry and given a number of different labels. On the other hand, its principles underpin pretty much every aspect of our modern lives from transport to food production and artificial joints.



I think the aim of defining a particular competence base for tribology would be beneficial for society. If the IET took the lead on this, it could extend its influence into a host of mechanical and manufacturing related disciplines where it is currently absent. I suspect there may be a strategic niche there, ready for the IET or another institution to exploit. I have in mind a particular quotation by the chairman of the Indian tribological institute, which I found a few years ago, in which he referred to tribology under-pinning that country's nation-building activities. In post-industrial countries, we would find equivalent value from a similar focus on energy-saving and improved quality of life. The bottom line is that any way of maintaining professional engineers' motivation would be beneficial to the profession. Engineering is fundamentally a hard way to make a living, wherever we live.