Father of Tribology recognised by Britain's Royal Academy of Engineering

The Academy’s Sustained Achievement Award, one of its highest honours, is to go to Dr Peter Jost for his ground-breaking work in tribology, the science and engineering of interacting moving surfaces.

Tribology includes the study of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear, and its application has huge implications on efficiency and cost in the manufacturing industry and far beyond.

Dr Peter Jost.

Dr Jost, a member of IPlantE (Institution of Plant Engineers) and its umbrella organisation SOE (Society of Operations Engineers), brought tribology into the public sphere when his 1966 study, the Jost Report, demonstrated that substantial financial losses were incurred as a result of friction, wear and corrosion.

The early focus of tribological principles and practices was on improving operation and extending the lifecycle of machinery; today, however, tribology has huge implications in a variety of modern applications such as biomedicine, nanotechnology, alternative energies, and green methodologies.

Dr Jost was elected an Honorary Member of IPlantE in 1969, and was awarded Companionship of SOE after IPlantE merged with IRTE (Institute of Road Transport Engineers) to form the Society in 2000.  Dr Jost says: “The Honorary Membership of IPlantE was the very first of many, but I valued it highly and still do. The SOE is performing an important function for industry and I am proud to have been associated with it for all these years.”

Dr Jost will receive the award on 29 October at the Academy's annual Hinton Lecture. SOE Chief Executive, Peter Walsh, says: “In founding the discipline of tribology Dr Jost quite simply revolutionised the scientific basis of maintenance. His sustained efforts over the years have professionalised plant engineering, and we are delighted he has been formally honoured in this manner.”