Early Career Award (2026 Annual Meeting)

Applications are reviewed by members of the Early Career Committee with the assistance from the STLE Presidential Council, who are not affiliated with the organizations from which the application is submitted. Late or incomplete applications are not accepted.

Application are evaluated on the following criteria:

• The applicant meets all criteria listed 
• Quality and originality of the research
• Contributions to academic/industrial community and the filed of tribology
• Promise for future contributions to the field of tribology
• Only one applicant per research group receives support for each conference
• Has not received the Early Career Award previously

Award Criteria:

Student: At the time of the application deadline, the applicant is currently enrolled and in good standing in a BS, MS, or Ph.D. program at a university. Students graduating in April or May of the same year as STLE will be evaluated in the student category.

Postdoctoral Researcher: At the time of the application deadline, the applicant is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher at an academic, national lab, or industry setting. The applicant must be within five years of receiving a doctoral degree.

Academic Professional: At the time of the application deadline, the applicant is currently employed as an Assistant Professor (or equivalent) at a degree-granting institution. If the applicant holds a tenure-track position, the applicant must be pre- tenure. If the applicant holds a non-tenure- track position, then the applicant must be within five years of starting employment as an Assistant Professor (or equivalent).

Industry Professional: At the time of the application deadline, the applicant is currently employed at a non-degree- granting institution, such as a corporation or a national lab. The applicant must be within five years of starting his/her post-PhD employment.