Dr. Hong Liang of Texas A&M University ascends as STLE president
Dr. Hong Liang, a professor from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S.A. began her term on May 23, 2023 as president of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), the technical society serving individuals, companies and organisations that comprise the tribology and lubricants industry.
Liang, who will serve as the society’s principal executive officer and chair of its board of directors, is the Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
During her one-year term as STLE president, she will implement a strategic plan emphasising technical innovation, education, and global advocacy in tribology and lubrication— promoting tribology’s positive impact across a broad spectrum of applications.
“We are thrilled to welcome a recognised academic at the helm of tribology research as our 2023-2024 president,” said Edward P. Salek, CAE, STLE executive director. “Liang’s longstanding dedication to tribology and notable contributions to the field will not only make a positive impact on STLE but will benefit our members in the years to come.”
Liang has participated in STLE since 1989 and has served on the STLE Board of Directors from 2007 to 2013. In 2007, she was appointed STLE Annual Meeting Program Committee chair after serving on the committee for nine years. She is the past chair of STLE’s Awards and Fellows Committees.
Joining her on the STLE executive committee for the 2023-2024 term are Vice President Jack McKenna of Sea-Land Chemical Company, Secretary Kevin Delaney of Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC, Treasurer Steffen Bots, of LUBESERV, Immediate Past President and Presidential Council Chair Dr. Ryan Evans of The Timken Company, and STLE Executive Director Edward P. Salek.
“Tribological advancements are critical to our society’s sustainability, economy and standard of living,” said Liang. “My goal as STLE president is to recognise the impacts of our society and the contributions of our members while addressing key issues affecting our field, including sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), diversity and more.”
In her current role at Texas A&M, Liang’s research focuses on tribology’s fundamental and application aspects. Her research group designs advanced tribomaterials and structures and makes them through nanomanufacturing. Liang investigates surface properties and interfacial interactions of those materials in tribological applications, including chemical-mechanical polishing. Her group has published intensively in the tribology community.
In 2018-2019, Liang was the assistant director of research partnerships at the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.A., where she served as a 2018-2019 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation Swanson Fellow.
Her services to the tribology community include being an associate editor of STLE’s peer-reviewed journal Tribology Transactions, current editor of Tribology International, past regional editor (North America) of Surface Topography: Metrology and Properties, and as associate editor of Friction and several other journals. Liang received her doctorate and master’s in materials science and engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.
