Perfecting Motion®

STLE Podcast
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Science
  • Updated Monthly

Perfecting Motion® is the official STLE podcast series, hosted by STLE, that features conversations with leading industry professionals sharing their insights about current issues and trends impacting the global tribology and lubricants community.

  1. Aug 30

    From Lubrication to Uptime: Lifetime Solutions as a Key Lever in the Use Phase

    Send us Fan Mail Rolling bearings rarely fail—only about 0.35% do—but when they do, lubrication is almost always the culprit. In this episode of Perfecting Motion, Bernhard Dreisser and Daniel Merk of Schaeffler explain why grease deserves to be treated as a fifth design element, not just a consumable. They unpack the concept of "Lifetime Solutions," tracing how First Fill decisions ripple across a bearing's entire service life, why the right additive package can extend bearing life by over 60%, and how automated Smart Lubrication systems are freeing maintenance teams from hours-long relubrication rounds. Along the way, they dig into real numbers—from calcium sulfonate complex grease advances to service-life comparisons at 120°C—and explain how closed-loop engineering keeps lab testing honest against real-world field performance. Our host, Marc Ingram, of Ingram Tribology, take a  practical look at how tribological expertise translates into uptime, sustainability, and lower total cost of ownership on the plant floor.  Our Guests: Bernhard Dreisser, Schaeffler Bernhard Dreisser is Global Business Development Manager for Lubricants at Schaeffler, where he works on the company's Arcanol rolling bearing greases and broader lifetime lubrication solutions. He brings nearly two decades of experience in the specialty lubricants industry, having spent 19 years at Klüber Lubrication in progressively senior roles spanning technical sales, market development, and sales management for the chemical industry across Germany and the Benelux region. Throughout his career, Dreisser has combined deep tribological application expertise with a strong focus on technical sales, market analysis, and customer-facing consultation, helping industrial partners select lubrication solutions that extend service life, reduce maintenance costs, and improve operational reliability. He views high-performance lubricants not as mere operating materials, but as functionally critical components essential to the productivity and longevity of modern vehicles, machines, and plants.  Daniel Merk, Schaeffler Daniel Merk is a Senior Expert in Bearing R&D Technology at Schaeffler, bringing over 15 years of engineering experience with the company in Schweinfurt, Germany. Since joining Schaeffler in 2011, he has built deep expertise in bearing research and development, with particular focus areas including bearing failure diagnosis and the application of artificial intelligence to R&D processes. In his current senior role, held since 2022, Daniel contributes advanced technical expertise to Schaeffler's bearing technology development, combining traditional engineering rigor with emerging AI-driven approaches to advance the company's research capabilities.  For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  2. Jul 26

    July 2026 - The Balancing Act: Lubricant Formulation, Tribometer Design, and the Gap Between Lab and Reality

    Send us Fan Mail  In this episode of Perfecting Motion®, we sit down with a lubricant formulation and tribology expert whose work spans the full value chain — from base oil and additive chemistry to tribometer design, customer training, and future mobility applications. The conversation opens with what makes lubricant formulation genuinely difficult: not the chemistry in isolation, but the constant trade-offs between competing performance requirements, cost constraints, and application realities. From there, we explore one of tribology's most persistent challenges — the gap between laboratory measurement and real-world behavior. Tribometers are powerful tools, but only when the contact conditions, materials, and loading regimes are chosen with the right contact situation in mind. Our guest explains how to think about test method development, what accelerated tests can reliably tell us, and where overclaiming becomes a professional hazard. The episode also covers the human side of tribology: teaching complex concepts to customers and cross-functional teams, building labs that draw on chemistry, metallurgy, and mechanical design together, and whether AI and computational tools are changing day-to-day formulation work in meaningful ways. The closing discussion looks ahead — across research, formulation, testing, standards, and future mobility — to ask what will genuinely transform over the next decade, and what will remain stubbornly, usefully the same. For anyone working in lubricant development, testing, or industrial training, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at what rigorous tribology actually requires, and why getting it right has never mattered more. Our Guest: Dr. Rai Notay earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Leeds, specializing in engine tribology.  Rai is currently the Senior Tribology Research Engineer at Lubrizol in the UK, Rai conducts advanced tribology research in industrial lubricants and powertrain technology to enhance efficiency and durability. Rai serves as a STLE TLT Technical Editor, contributing to the dissemination of cutting-edge tribology and lubrication research. He collaborates with UK universities and is committed to innovation and knowledge exchange. For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  3. Jun 28

    June 2026 - From Steel Mills to Offshore Wind: Bearing Reliability, Failure Analysis, and the Tribology of Industrial-Scale Energy

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Perfecting Motion®, Debottam Bose — a bearing and lubrication application engineer at Vestas with experience spanning steel plants, heavy industrial machinery, and offshore wind turbine drivetrains — shares what decades of failure investigation and field engineering teach you about reliability at scale. The conversation moves through the fundamentals of large bearing application engineering, the discipline of root cause analysis under pressure, and the underestimated role of lubricant selection in determining whether critical components survive or fail. Debottam draws on lessons from some of the harshest industrial environments — converters, casters, rolling mills — and explains why those lessons transfer more directly to offshore wind than most engineers expect. The episode also examines offshore wind as a maturing industrial technology: why standardization matters as much as innovation, how field failure data must feed back into next-generation turbine design, and what skills the next generation of tribologists will need as mechanical systems grow larger, more remote, and more closely monitored. Whether you work in renewables, heavy industry, maintenance engineering, or lubrication science, this episode offers a grounded, field-tested perspective on what keeps large machines running — and what we lose when they don't. Our Presenter:  Debottam Bose brings over 17 years of hands-on expertise as a Bearing and Lubrication Application Engineer, specializing in rolling bearing design, lubricant selection, and large-size bearing testing. He has deep experience across grease testing and specification, bearing inspections, and failure root cause analysis — and has applied that knowledge in some of the most demanding industrial environments in the world, including blast furnaces, sinter plants, steel casters, rolling mills, and offshore wind turbines, both direct-drive and geared platforms. Throughout his career he has worked directly with customers to solve complex application challenges, develop new products, and present technical findings — making him equally at home in the lab, on the plant floor, and in front of an audience. Today we're excited to have him share his insights on bearing and lubrication engineering in heavy industry.  For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  4. May 1

    Professional Growth and Power of Human Connection: The Heart of Volunteering

    Send us Fan Mail Abstract: Guest: Kuldeep Mistry is Senior Research Scientist at Chevron Oronite and STLE Board Member.  He is a tribologist and strategist dedicated to "perfecting motion" across machines and organizations alike. With nearly two decades of R&D experience—spanning Argonne National Lab, Timken, and the University of Leeds—they currently lead the revitalization of tribology testing to accelerate lubricant innovation for everything from heavy marine engines to the next generation of EVs. Beyond the lab, they are a passionate champion for STEM outreach and global technical collaboration, believing that true innovation only happens at the intersection of rigorous science and human connection.  For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  5. Mar 29

    Friction's Role in the Everyday World

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Perfecting Motion, our host, Marc Ingram, dives into the "hidden science" of tribology with Jennifer Vail, author of Friction – A Biography, to uncover how this often-overlooked force shapes the modern world. The conversation journeys from the fundamental physics that allow us to walk and drive to the historical milestones where engineering hurdles sparked scientific breakthroughs. We explore the ways humans instinctively "tinker" with friction in daily life, the fascinating presence of tribology in the natural world, and the critical role of lubrication and wear-control in today's most vital industries. Finally, the episode looks toward the future of material science, discussing whether we can ever achieve near-zero friction and why understanding this invisible force is key to solving the next generation of global engineering challenges. Our guest: Dr. Jennifer Vail studied tribology at the University of Florida before moving to England as a researcher at the University of Sheffield and Imperial College London. She returned to the United States to start the first dedicated R&D tribology lab for DuPont and then produced educational content for the Khan Academy. Her TED talk on tribology has reached more than 2.5 million people and her book Friction: A Biography was released in early 2026. For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org . Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org. For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  6. Feb 26

    Micropitting in Gears

    Send us Fan Mail This podcast episode dives deep into the persistent and often misunderstood issue of micropitting in gears, guided by expert insights from Ben Wainwright. The conversation begins by defining micropitting and examining how it manifests in real-world applications, asking whether it remains a practical concern in modern gear systems and what fundamental factors—such as lambda ratio, surface roughness, and contact conditions—drive its formation. We explore how micropitting should be properly characterized, which surface finishes are most effective at reducing risk, and the complex role lubricants play, including whether antiwear and EP additives mitigate or inadvertently promote damage. The discussion then turns to testing: how micropitting is currently evaluated, whether today’s tests truly reflect field failures, and what an ideal test might look like if designed from first principles. The episode closes with practical guidance for gearbox designers, common misconceptions still seen in industry, trusted rules of thumb, and a forward-looking question on whether micropitting is something we will ultimately engineer out—or simply continue to manage.  Our Guest: Benjamin Wainwright completed his studies in mechanical engineering at Imperial college London in 2017. During his undergraduate studies he was heavily involved in the maintenance of the 1902 Car mascot of the City and Guilds. This along with a keen interest in the fundamentals of engineering inspired Ben to take on a PhD in the Imperial College Tribology Group focusing on surface fatigue of gear and bearing applications. Ben was awarded his PhD in 2022 and shortly after continued his career within the R&D department of PCS Instruments. Here, together with his fellow R&D engineers, he has contributed to the development and release of a system to allow research of electrified contacts as well as high speed twin disc machine focusing on high speed EHL. Marc Ingram has over 10 years experience working in Tribology.  His masters degree in Chemistry and PhD in Engineering (Tribology) helps him easily bridge the gap that so often exists between lubricant formulator and field/test engineer.  He has worked with all major oil and additive companies after a successful career at Imperial College, PCS Instruments and Afton Chemical.  Marc has extensive knowledge of all tribology test methods inc For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  7. Jan 29

    Tribology Measurement

    Send us Fan Mail This month's podcast episode explores the precision-driven world of tribology through the lens of national laboratory measurement science, moving beyond basic product development to address the fundamental challenges of friction, wear, and lubrication. Our guest discusses the unique operational environment of a national lab and provides a deep dive into the technical rigors of creating robust, high-tech measurements while addressing the persistent gaps between laboratory data and industrial reality. The conversation tackles critical hurdles in measurement uncertainty, the dual nature of standardized testing, and the transformative impact of digitalization—specifically whether current tribological data is truly "AI-ready." Finally, we examine the shifting landscape of the energy transition, highlighting new measurement frontiers in EV drivetrains and hydrogen systems, and offering essential advice for practicing tribologists on experimental design and the evolving skillsets required for the next decade.  Our Presenters:  Timothy Kamps is a Senior Scientist in the Advanced Materials team at NPL. Timothy is a Tribologist specialising in the development of online and offline in situ measurement technologies. He is experienced in the design and analysis of laboratory experiments that quantify the friction and wear of lubricated interfaces. Timothy investigated the scuffing failure of cast irons for his PhD which was awarded by the University of Southampton in 2018. He received the Institute of Physics prize for innovation in tribology in 2017 and Tribology Trust Bronze Medal in 2015. Timothy attained his MEng degree in mechanical engineering with an automotive theme from the University of Southampton in 2012. Marc Ingram has over 10 years experience working in Tribology.  His masters degree in Chemistry and PhD in Engineering (Tribology) helps him easily bridge the gap that so often exists between lubricant formulator and field/test engineer.  He has worked with all major oil and additive companies after a successful career at Imperial College, PCS Instruments and Afton Chemical.  Marc has extensive knowledge of all tribology test methods inc For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

  8. 12/14/2025

    December 2025 - Tribological Automotive Research

    Send us Fan Mail This month we talk about understanding and optimizing tribological performance is vital for improving fuel efficiency, extending component lifespan, and reducing emissions in modern vehicles. Dr. Nolan Chu from Auburn University and Dr. Arup Gangopadhyay from Ford Motor Company will share insights into the complex computational models being developed to predict and mitigate wear in critical areas such as engines, transmissions, and brake systems. We’ll discuss the challenges of accurately simulating these real-world conditions and how this research translates into the next generation of more durable and efficient automotive technology. Tune in to learn how advanced tribological modeling is driving innovation on the road.  Our Presenters: Dr. Nolan Chu received his bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and in Applied Mathematics - Actuarial Science from Auburn University in May 2016, his  master's in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University in May 2018, and my doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University in May 2023.  His work as a graduate student mainly focused on modeling engine components to evaluate friction reduction strategies, but also worked on elastic and elastic-plastic rough surface contact models. Dr. Arup Gangopadhyay  is a technical leader of powertrain tribology in energy, propulsion and sustainability in research and advanced engineering at Ford Motor Co., where he has worked for more than 30 years. His research focus is on reducing friction and wear in powertrain systems, as well as understanding the interaction between lubricant additives and surfaces and coatings, with the ultimate goal of improving fuel economy. He has published 80 technical papers, holds a number of U.S. patents and was awarded the Engineering Society of Detroit’s Gold Award in September 2020, which honors exceptional engineers and scientists. He has served as a board member for the STLE Detroit Section since 2000 and also served two terms as an STLE board member. He was elected an STLE Fellow in 2004. For more information on STLE, please visit https://www.stle.org/ If you have an idea for our podcast, or interested in being a guest, please Email STLE Director of Professional Development Robert Morowczynski at rmorowczynski@stle.org .   Also, we love your feedback, please take a minute to provide us with your thoughts at Perfecting Motion Podcast Feedback or Email us at rmorowczynski@stle.org.

See All (39)

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Perfecting Motion® is the official STLE podcast series, hosted by STLE, that features conversations with leading industry professionals sharing their insights about current issues and trends impacting the global tribology and lubricants community.

Information

  • Creator
    STLE Podcast
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Perfecting Motion®
  • Show Website
    Perfecting Motion®