CONGRESS AIMS

WTC V will provide an international forum for researchers from industry and academia to discuss the latest developments in Tribology. Tribology bears on almost every aspect of our daily lives. It is the underpinning science and technology which has the potential to impact positively on all aspects of our health and quality of life, including how we generate and conserve energy, reduce friction and wear, and preserve our environment.

Main Aims of the Congress are:

to promote Tribology
to contribute to the technical developments related to Tribology
to promote international relations and exchanges
to highlight how Tribology fundamentals and applied studies are essential for environmental aspects
to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge among the academic and the industrial world
to put in evidence the new research trends

Particular attention will be devoted to the importance of Tribology for the environment.

Environmental Tribology includes all aspects related to energy and material saving and to reduced impact on the environment

THE ITALIAN TRIBOLOGY TRADITION

Tribology in Italy has ancient origins. Tribological principles were used by Romans. It is worth mentioning the thrust bronze ball bearing, with wooden grooves, discovered at the bottom of lake Nemi, near Rome.
Some interesting activities were performed by Tuscan engineers and architects during Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci can be considered as the first well-known Tribologist thanks to his studies on machine elements for reducing both friction and wear. In modern age, the interest in Tribology has been evidenced by several publications and books dedicated to Mechanics. Galileo Galilei demolished the myth of the perpetual motion with his studies on friction in the XVII century.

As reported above, the interest for Tribology has been always present in Italy since centuries till to arrive to the foundation of the Italian Tribology Association (AIT - www.aitrib.it) in 2005. AIT is a non-profit, non-governmental cultural organization founded as a reference National Organization for all people interested on Tribology in Italy. Its members can be individual and collective.
Collective members are industries, university departments, research centres and other associations. The founding members of AIT are AIMETA, FERRARI S.p.A. and SKF Industries S.p.A.. Among the main aims of AIT are the promotion of cooperation between universities and industries, the spreading of the knowledge of tribological problems with cultural and scientific activities, and the promotion of international relations and exchanges.