Caribbean wins engineering award

THE SCIENCE of Tribology and Lubrication Engineering has earned Trinidad and Tobago and by extension, the Caribbean region, unique international recognition. This has come with the Caribbean Region Section of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication (STLE) receiving the 2003 Award, for contributing towards the Society’s Mission “to advance the science of Tribology and the practice of Lubrication Engineeering, in order to foster innovation, improve the performance of Equipment and Products, conserve resources and to protect the environment”.

The Award was presented in New York to Trinidadian Kuarlal Rampersad, chairman of the Caribbean Region Section. Rampersad said Friday: “It is a tremendous achievement for the Caribbean Section to be chosen from 40 countries worldwide”. The 2-year old STLE’s Caribbean Section, successfully hosted the 2003 International Tribology Conference, Exhibition, Education Courses and Young Engineer’s Forum in February this year at the Hilton Trinidad. The parent body thought that to execute the programme in only six months, was a mammoth consolidation of efforts by the Section’s Chairman, members, volunteers and corporate sponsors.

Dr Josiah Knight, outgoing President of STLE was impressed with the significant tasks accomplished by the relatively new Caribbean Section. He said: “The Section’s innovation in organising a Young Engineer’s Forum where final year students from the University of the West Indies were chosen to present a technical paper at this year’s Tribology Conference, was the first of its kind by any section, and was applauded by STLE’s Board of Directors internationally. Tribology is described by the Oxford dictionary as the study of friction, wear, lubrication and the design of bearings or the Science of lubricating surfaces in relative motion.