2026 STLE Fellows Nomination Form

QUALIFICATIONS FOR FELLOW GRADE

STLE Constitution & Bylaws

Article III, Section 1(g)

Fellow Members. Fellow Membership may be granted to any individual (hereinafter, a “Fellow member”) who, according to the Society’s Fellows Committee, has demonstrated outstanding personal achievements in the field of tribology and/or lubrication engineering, has been engaged in active practice in a science and/or engineering profession for a minimum of 20 years, and has been an STLE Member for a minimum of 10 years.

GUIDELINES FOR STLE NOMINATION PROPOSALS

FELLOW MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES

Any current STLE Member may propose any other STLE Member for Fellow Membership by submitting a completed Proposal for Fellow form to the Society (herein referred as "Presenter"). The Presenter is responsible for completing the Proposal form, as well as securing five letters of support for the candidate from STLE Members (herein referred as "Sponsors"), at least two of which must be STLE Fellows. A Fellows Committee Member may not be a Presenter or a Sponsor.

KEY TIMELINES

July 1, 2025                    Call For STLE Fellows Nominations Opens

September 30, 2025     Completed Fellows nominations must be submitted to STLE Headquarters

December 31, 2025       Fellows Committee completes review and recommendations

January 2026                 Recommendations are presented to the STLE Board of Directors

May 2026                        Fellow Membership is awarded at STLE Annual Meeting

Fellows Committee members will evaluate each Proposal individually to determine if the candidate meets the standard for outstanding personal achievement through significant contributions in management, education, research or technological areas in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field. Failure to qualify does not preclude submission of a new Proposal in the future.

INTERPRETATION OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR FELLOW MEMBERSHIP

The Fellows Committee shall evaluate each Proposal to determine whether the proposed candidate: 

 1. has met the practice and membership requirements set forth in the STLE Constitution and Bylaws; 

• When not obvious from dates provided on the nominee’s vitae or nomination form, the presenter or sponsors should explicitly address how the nominee meets the years of practice requirement.  
• Examples of evidence for the start of practice include the publication date of a graduate thesis, an archival research paper dealing with any aspect of tribology or lubrication engineering, and the hiring date for a job in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.    
• The start of a general undergraduate or technology degree in engineering is not considered to be start of practice, unless that degree explicitly states a major or minor in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.
• Time in practice can include professional employment in science or engineering, with cumulative assignments meeting the requirements being acceptable.
• Student and affiliate memberships do not count toward membership years requirement. 

 2. has had five sponsorship letters from STLE members submitted on the candidate's behalf, two of which are from STLE Fellows.

 3. has demonstrated outstanding personal achievement in the field of tribology and/or lubrication engineering.

The candidate’s accomplishments must be beyond those typically expected of a scientist or engineer in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.

The candidate should be recognized as an outstanding authority as shown by one or more of the following:

• Evidence of being responsible for significant and widely known improvements in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.
• Evidence of relevant publications, including any or all of the following: books, papers, patents, articles, and presentations.
• Examples of exceptional professional distinction in the candidate’s area of influence.

PRESENTER AND SPONSOR GUIDELINES

Sponsors should be as widely distributed as possible. Preferably not more than two should be submitted from any one organization. If this is impractical, the Presenter should provide the Fellows Committee with an explanation regarding the selection of Sponsors.

As indicated above, elevation to Fellow is limited to those individuals that have demonstrated outstanding personal achievement well above those normally expected. Therefore, it is very important that the Presenter and Sponsors provide specific details that clearly identify these significant accomplishments. The Sponsor letter should not be regarded as an endorsement but rather a verification of the outstanding personal achievements the proposed candidate has accomplished.

PROPOSAL FOR FELLOW SPONSOR LETTER – SUGGESTED COMPOSITION:

It is highly recommended that the support letters contain all or most of the elements outlined below. 

a)  Introduction containing the objective of the letter and your relationship to the proposed candidate.

b)  Describe how the candidate has demonstrated outstanding personal achievements in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.

c)  Show that the candidate’s accomplishments are beyond those typically expected of a scientist or engineer in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.

d)  Demonstrate that the candidate is recognized as an outstanding authority as shown by one or more of the following:

            i.  Evidence of being responsible for significant and widely known improvements in the tribology and/or lubrication engineering field.

           ii.  Evidence of relevant publications, including any or all of the following: books, papers, patents, articles, and presentations.

           iii.  Examples of exceptional professional distinction in the candidate’s area of influence.

e)  Summarize the above and reconfirm your support for the elevation of the candidate to the status of STLE Fellow.