Argonne Researcher Honored for Outstanding Tribology Achievements

Ali Erdemir, of Argonne's Energy Technology Division, has been named a Fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). To receive this honor, society members must practice the science and engineering profession of tribology for 20 years, maintain membership in the society for at least 10 years, and be nominated by the STLE Fellows Committee. Fellows must also demonstrate outstanding personal achievements in the fields of tribology or lubrication engineering.

Erdemir certainly meets those criteria. Last year, he received the Al Sonntag Award and the Allan A. Manteuffel Award from STLE's Chicago chapter for his development of a carbon coating that showed the lowest coefficient of friction (less than .001) when tested in a dry nitrogen atmosphere. The coating is 40 times slicker than Teflon, which has a friction coefficient of about .04. The breakthrough coating has many potential applications, including oil-less bearings, spacecraft mechanisms, rolling and sliding gear systems, and ultrahigh vacuum systems.

In addition to this breakthrough, Erdemir has provided his services to STLE for more than 10 years, serving as chairman of the Solid Lubrication Technical Committee, chairman of the 2001 Annual Meeting, and an associate editor for STLE's official journal, Tribology Transactions, from 1995 until 2000. Other honors and awards in recent years include a Fellow Award from ASM-International in 2001, a Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000, two R&D 100 Awards (in 1991 and 1998), a Discover Magazine Award in 1998, and an Edmond E. Bisson Award in 1998. He has also published more than 100 refereed journal articles and holds six U.S. patents.

Erdemir is currently working to scale up the near-frictionless coating process for industrial applications, and he's also working on a new coating that will not only be low friction, but also extremely hard and wear-resistant in any type of operating environment. "It feels great to be noticed and recognized by my peers in the field," says Erdemir about his elevation to Fellow. "I feel that our work at Argonne is valued highly, and this brings more visibility and recognition to our laboratory."