PROF. DR. KOJI KATO
Faculty of Engineering, Nihon University, Japan

Short Biography
PhD from Tohoku University in 1974. Professor and Head of Tribology Lab there in 1987 - 2007, and at Nihon University in 2007 - 2013. Honorary Researcher and Lecturer there at present. Member of Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Haute Distinction Honoris Causa of Ecole Centrale de Lyon (France), Emeritus Professor of Tohoku University (Japan) and Xi’an Jiaotong University (China). Recipient of Tribology Gold Medal (UK), Mayo D Hersey Award (ASME), STLE International Award, Japan Academy Award. 17 Tribology Chapter in Books. More than 70 of Invited international plenary and keynote talks. Published papers are more than 300.

Past, Present and Future of Tribology in Japan

Lubrication technology was rapidly developed during the time of Industrial revolution (1750~1850) in England and Europe. It was introduced to Japan after the opening of the country in 1867, and Japanese industries of tribo-materials, tribo-elements, and tribo-systems grew up quickly together with the growth of other heavy industries. Japanese Society of Lubrication Engineers (JSLE) was founded in 1956 when the Group of Lubrication and Wear was formed in IMechE. JSLE changed its name to Japanese Society of Tribologists (JAST) in 1989 when Japanese GNI exceeded that of USA. Through the period, Japanese bearing companies such as NSK and NTN formed the top group of bearing companies in the world.  JAST organized its 8th International Tribology Conference - Tokyo in 2015, 4th WTC – Kyoto in 2009 and 3rd Asiatrib – Kanazawa in 2006. The contribution to the science and technology of tribology in Japan gradually became obvious in the last 30 years. The ceramic ball bearings were first produced successfully by a Japanese company. The DLC coating method was quickly developed and introduced into various tribo-elements in Japan. The super high speed train, Shinkan-sen, continued to increase its speed with the advanced tribo-technologies. The concept of super lubricity was first introduced in Japan and attractive data have been reported.The future of tribology in Japan will be discussed with the recognition of such history of tribological achievements.

PROF. DR. MICHEL FILLON
Institut Pprime, CNRS - Université de Poitiers, ISAE-ENSMA, France

Short Biography
Michel Fillon received his Ph.D degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Poitiers, France, in 1985. He is a CNRS Director of Research at the Pprime Institute. From 2002 to 2010, he has been Manager of the “Lubricated Contact Mechanics” team. His current research interests are both experimental and theoretical investigations of hydrodynamic journal and thrust bearings. He is a Fellow of ASME and of STLE. From 2006 to 2008, he was the Chair of Research Committee of ASME Tribology Division. He is a member of Board of Directors of STLE since 2016. He is also currently Editor-in-Chief of Tribology International. He is organizing the EDF/Pprime Workshop on Bearings since 2002.

Past, Present and Future of Hydrodynamic Lubrication 

Although the problems on Tribology have been known since millenniums, the studies on friction started only after the 16th century by the works of Leonardo da Vinci. Later on, the bases of the lubrication theory have been initiated by other famous researchers like Beauchamp Tower and Osborne Reynolds. The thermal effects in journal bearings have been known since 1854 with the works of Hirn, but it wasn’t until a century later, in 1962, that the thermohydrodynamic lubrication theory was presented by Dowson. Since this time, the thermal effects combined with the mechanical and thermal deformations of the bearing elements were of a great interest in hydrodynamic bearings operating in laminar and non-laminar regimes. Moreover, the mixed lubrication regime can be the result of downsizing in order to reduce power losses. During the last fifty years, the evolution of tilting-pad journal and thrust bearings has led to enhance their performance: these bearings are nowadays widely used in many applications. Nowadays, several ways of friction reduction in hydrodynamic bearings are investigated: low viscosity lubricants, composite or polymer materials and surface texturing.

PROF. IR. DR. MASJUKI HASSAN
Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Short Biography
Masjuki is a 2017 Merdeka (Independence) Award winner in the Outstanding Scholastic Achievement category. He obtained his B.Sc.(Hons), Mech Eng from Leeds University, U.K. in 1977. This was followed by his M.Sc. in Tribology and Ph.D. in Mech Eng from the same university in 1978 and 1982 respectively. On completion of his PhD, he was appointed as a lecturer in 1983 at University of Malaya. He is currently appointed as a Senior Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Malaya and currently is also Visiting Professor at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Administratively, he was appointed as Acting Dean, Deputy Dean, and Head of Mechanical Engineering Department on several occasions. He also sat on many committees at International, National (Ministries), and University levels. He served as Senate Member of University of Malaya on several occasions and was Secretary of Council of National Professors under the Engineering, Technology and Built Environment Cluster until 31st March 2016. He is Chairman of Council of National Professors - University of Malaya Chapter from 1st June 2016 to 31st May 2018. He was the founding President of Malaysian Tribology Society (MYTRIBOS) from 2007 to 2017. He is currently appointed as one of the Vice Presidents of International Tribology Council (ITC), UK. He is the Head of the Centre for Energy Sciences and Research Fellow at Centre of Malay Excellence Study, University of Malaya. He received large amount of research grants and many awards for his outstanding academic achievements and also member of many International and National professional organizations. He collaborated and still collaborating with many international research organizations such as United State Agency for International Aid Agency (USAID), Asean-Australian Energy  Conservation Program (AAECP), ASIAN Development Bank (ADB), Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and AUN-Seed Net Program and Universities. He has successfully supervised many local and foreign Master and PhD students. He reviewed and still being invited to review many journal articles by renowned publishers. He is a CEng(UK), MSAE(USA), PEng/Ir(Malaysia) and FIMechE(UK).  

Thirty Years of Tribology in Malaysia: Research Gap Between North and South

Research work in the field of tribology is relatively new in Malaysia compared to the advanced countries of the world. Introduction of tribology as an important field of engineering in Malaysian universities and industries was quite difficult. Recently tribologists in Malaysia have focused on green tribology, tribology of waste materials, surface and coatings technology and bio-mimetics. In 2007, Malaysian tribologists from Leeds University, UK laid the foundation of MYTRIBOS. MYTRIBOS was formed to properly promote the practice, research and development related to the field of tribology in Malaysia and to facilitate collaborations between academia and industry in all possible endeavors. MYTRIBOS eventual vision and mission is to help reduce energy consumption by making machineries more energy efficient in order to reduce greenhouse gas emission and to make industries more economically profitable. It has more than 100 active members around the world. Several regional and international conferences have been held by MYTRIBOS in order to promote global networking. Participants in these conferences were from developed countries. Through the efforts of MYTRIBOS, tribology has been introduced as a subject in public and private universities in Malaysia. There is a major gap in the tribological research work between north and south. The collaboration among northern and southern tribologists can reduce the environmental pollution and energy consumption in this region. Extensive funding is required by Malaysian tribologists in order to acquire research equipment, consumables and organize tribological conferences. These conferences will highlight the importance and applications for future tribological research. These necessary steps should be taken for bridging the research gap between north and south.