Track organizers: Koshi Adashi, Tianmin Shao, Carsten Gachot. Scope: This track welcomes submissions from the following research fields: surface coatings, thin solid films, surface modification, surface texturing and their friction and wear behaviour, numerical simulations, preparation methods and techniques, characterisation techniques, etc..
Track Organizers: Mitjan Kalin, Henara Lillian Costa, TVVLN Rao. Scope: This track focuses on the role of tribology in promoting environmental sustainability, contributing to lower carbon emissions, boosting improved energy efficiency and supporting cleaner energy systems. The research and technological advancements to be presented in this track are aimed at reducing friction, wear, and energy consumption. Key themes include (but not limited to):
Track Organizers: Roberto Martins de Souza, Lian Blunt, Noël Brunetière. Scope: The behaviour of interacting surfaces in tribology is strongly linked to surface topography that, in addition, evolves during operation. The metrology of surfaces is thus of importance in tribology, as it affects many phenomena, such as friction, wear, adhesion, wetting, heat and electricity conduction, lubrication, and tactile perception. This track is dedicated to research works on surface metrology, surface characterization, instrumentation and functional properties of surfaces. Research contributions studying the link between surface topography and any surface properties related to tribology are also welcome". This track coincides with the 25th International Conference on Metrology and Properties of Surfaces (Met&Props)
Track Organizers: Martin Dienwiebel, Michael Moseler, Fabrice Dassenoy Scope: This session focuses on fundamental mechanisms governing friction and lubrication at the nanoscale. We welcome contributions using experimental, theoretical, or computational approaches to uncover the molecular and atomic origins of tribological phenomena. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Track Organizers: Maria Isabel de Barros, Benyebka Bou-Said, Ardian Morina. Scope: This track will focus on the latest advancements in tribochemistry, lubrication mechanisms, and the strategic role of lubricants and additives in modern tribological systems. Contributions are invited that deepen the understanding of chemical and physical interactions at tribological interfaces, particularly under demanding conditions such as high loads, elevated temperatures, and boundary lubrication regimes. Emphasis will be placed on the design, formulation, and performance evaluation of next-generation lubricants and functional additives aimed at reducing friction, controlling wear, and enhancing energy efficiency and component lifespan. The track welcomes studies spanning fundamental tribochemical processes, advanced characterization methods, multiscale modeling, and application-driven research relevant to automotive, aerospace, industrial machinery, and emerging fields such as sustainable and bio-tribology."
Track Organizers: Xinchun Lu, Mohamed El Mansori, Braham Prakash. Scope: This track invites both fundamental and applied contributions that explore tribological phenomena, challenges, and innovations across manufacturing processes, mining operations, transport and integrated circuits systems. Submissions from academia, research institutions, and industry are welcome, particularly those that deepen understanding or present practical solutions related to friction, wear, lubrication, and surface engineering in these critical sectors. Key topics include:
Track Organizers: Weimin Liu, Ian Sherington. Scope: This track addresses challenges in tribology which are encountered in the extreme environments of high-altitude flight, operation in space and machines in the oceans. Papers will address the wide range of issues which arise in these environments citing the problems that arise and state-of-the-art research into solutions to address lubrication, friction and wear. Papers which address practical issues are particularly welcome.
Track Organizers: Jacob Klein, Jason Stokes, Wuge Briscoe and Markus A. Wimmer. Scope: This track welcomes tribological submissions concerning biological systems and/or phenomena, as well as bio-inspired materials and surfaces. Join us to bridge biology, engineering and materials science for innovative solutions in health, food, and technology. Key themes include (but are not limited to):
Track Organizers: Peter Gumbsch, Sylvie Descartes Scope: The symposium focusses on the monitoring, characterization, and analysis of surface and sub-surface transformations due to frictional loading. The transformations involve complex processes occurring at different scales at or near the solid bodies’ surfaces. Chemical, (micro)structural or mechanical changes largely determine friction and wear. Our aim is to understand and model the origin of such transformations and predict their consequences on the behaviour of tribological contacts. We aim at bringing together the views of numerical and experimental experts from diverse scientific and technological backgrounds. Thus, different perspectives on such transformations will be shared, including tribological experiments, characterization, data-based monitoring, modelling and simulation, transient phenomena, third body effects, interactions with the environment, practical evaluation of tribosystems, etc.
Track Organizers: Martin H. Müser, Lars Pastewka, Michele Ciavarella. Scope: Tribological phenomena such as friction, wear, adhesion, lubrication, and sealing are strongly influenced by surface roughness across multiple length scales. While significant advances have been made in characterizing multiscale roughness, its quantitative influence on tribological performance remains incompletely understood. Moreover, understanding these effects often requires coupling multiple physical processes — including mechanical, thermal, chemical, and fluid dynamics — across scales. This symposium invites contributions that address the challenges of multiscale and multiphysics modeling in tribology, as well as in situ experimental approaches that reveal mechanisms at relevant spatial and temporal resolutions. We welcome experimental, theoretical, and numerical studies that explore how multiscale roughness and the combined effects of mechanical, thermal, and chemical processes influence tribological behavior across diverse systems and applications.
Track Organizers: Zhong Lin Wang, Tom Reddyhoff; Weiguo Hu; Shiquan Lin. Scope: The Internet of Things era brings new requirements for energy to sustainably power billions of devices and sensors pervasively. Recent advances in nanogenerator research have demonstrated great potential in harvesting mechanical energy from ambient environments and the human body, leading to pervasive and sustainable power sources that operate over a broad range of conditions. During the past decade, the nanogenerator technologies by using piezoelectric, triboelectric, and other effects has experienced a rapid development. It has led to the implementation of various types of micro/nano-systems for portable, wearable and implantable electronics, remote and mobile sensors, nano-robotics, intelligent MEMS/NEMS, and blue energy technology. Topics will include:
Track Organizers: Amilcar Ramalho, Marcelo Braga dos Santos, Giuseppe Pintaude. Scope: This track is organized to receive contributions in three related topics within tribology science: Tribomechadynamics, tribotests, and monitoring. Tribomechadynamics is an emerging field derived from the intersection of structural dynamics, contact mechanics, and tribology, aimed at redesigning components and structures for greater efficiency, reliability, and longevity. Challenges arise due to time and spatial variations in contact conditions, limiting the accuracy of numerical simulations; thus, experimental approaches remain crucial in tribology research. Variability in test systems complicates interlaboratory comparisons, necessitating improved analysis models and experiment designs to predict friction and wear under diverse contact scenarios. Besides, monitoring wear in real-time presents challenges across various industries, requiring indirect measurement strategies and careful planning to successfully estimate the remaining useful life of machinery and components. This underscores the importance of extensive discussions on best practices and methodologies to enhance the reliability of numerical, experimental, and monitoring results.
Track Organizers: Nick Garabedian, Max Marian, Prathima Nalam Scope: AI can potentially revolutionize the field of tribology by creating new ways of designing lubricants and coatings, to analyzing complex engineering systems. However, successfully meeting these challenges will require fundamental changes in the way data are collected and analyzed and a reassessment of how tribological experiments are carried out. This symposium will bring together the world leaders in the field to address these challenges. Abstracts are welcome in all fields of AI and ML, including on:
Track Organizers: Maria Cristina Moré Farias, Nathan Strey, Deborah de Oliveira, Alaitz Zabala. Eligible for researchers who are 35 years old or younger. Scope: The Young Tribologists Forum aims to foster visibility, networking, and professional development for early-career researchers in tribology, including master's and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and young professionals. This track is dedicated to supporting the next generation of tribologists by providing opportunities to showcase their work, engage in scientific and career discussions, and connect with peers and senior experts. The forum features a variety of interactive sessions, including: