International
Nanotribology
Forum

An organization dedicated to the promotion of Nanotribology
A division of Swiss Tribology


In the last few years there has been a series of highly successful meetings, in which engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists and materials scientists were brought together to discuss issues concerning tribology on the nanoscale and the fundamentals of tribology in general:


Physical and Chemical Mechanisms in Tribology in Bar Harbor, Maine, 1995
Nanotribology: Theory, Experiment, Applications, in Ubud, Bali, 2000
Sikkim International Nanotribology Symposium, in Pelling, Sikkim, India, 2001
NanoBali II: The Liquid-Solid Interface, in Ubud, Bali, 2003
NanoSikkim II: Friction and Biotribology, in Pelling, Sikkim, India, 2004
INF: The Hoi An Discussions, in Hoi An, Vietnam, 2007
NanoSikkim III: Mechanics and Friction at the Nanoscale, in Pelling, Sikkim, India, 2008
INF: The Hoi An Discussions II, in Hoi An, Vietnam, 2011
INF: in memoriam Sanjay K. Biswas, Kerala, India 2014
INF: NanoGoa, Nanoscale Effects in Macrotribology, Goa, India 2018
INF: Atomic/Molecular Insights into Tribological Processes, in memoriam Jacob Israelachvili, ChiangRai, Thailand 2020


Following the meeting in 2001 in India, there was a strong consensus that this valuable exchange should continue.  In addition to its inherent fundamental scientific interest, Nanotribology represents a crucial basis for nanotechnology in general, and is currently being researched in numerous institutions, worldwide.  It was felt that a worldwide coordination of nanotribology meetings, and thus a more efficient communication mechanism between research groups, could be highly effective in advancing our field.  To this end, the International Nanotribology Forum (INF) was established. 

The mission of the INF is to promote the dissemination of Nanotribology research results, via meetings and other mechanisms, such as this website.  While all three meetings mentioned above were characterized by discussions of the frontiers of research in nanotribology, and this is the spirit in which the INF wishes to continue, a secondary aim of the INF is to make efforts to involve participants from developing nations. This is a reason for our choice of atypical locations for the meetings, which, thanks to their reasonable accommodation rates, enable attendance by those who normally cannot afford to attend such meetings.  It is also envisioned that a significant number of studentships will be available for each meeting. 

The mission of the INF is to promote the dissemination of nanotribology research results, via meetings and other mechanisms. The first activity of the Forum was Nanotribology: the liquid-solid interface in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, in 2003.

 

INF Subcommittee of Swiss Tribology :


Prof. Nicholas D. Spencer (Chair), ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Juliette Cayer-Barrioz, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France

Prof. Vikram Jayaram, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

Prof. Satish Kailas, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India


INF Advisory Board:


Dr. Yasuhisa Ando, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan

Dr. S.A. Syed Asif, Hysitron Inc., Minneapolis, USA

Prof. Ganapathy Ayappa, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

Prof. Colin Bain, University of Durham, UK

Prof. Robert Carpick, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

Dr. Martin Dienwiebel, Fraunhofer Institute, Freiburg, Germany

Prof. Andrew Gellman, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

Prof. Steve Granick, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

Prof. Roger Horn, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

Prof. Suzanne P. Jarvis, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Prof. Uzi Landman, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA

Prof. Jean Michel Martin, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France

Prof. Ernst Meyer, University of Basel, Switzerland

Dr. Sean O'Shea, IMRE, A*Star, Singapore

Prof. John Pethica, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Prof. Hugh Spikes, Imperial College, London, UK

Prof. Wilfred T. Tysoe, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA

Prof. Michael Varenberg, Technion, Israel

Dr. Kathryn J. Wahl, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA


If you are interested in participating in this organization, please contact us at nspencer@ethz.ch.

 

 

 

 

Webmaster: Nic Spencer nspencer@ethz.ch