Tribology is the branch of science and technology concerned with interacting surfaces in relative motion, friction, wear, and lubrication.

n 1966 Peter Jost, chairman of a working group of lubrication engineers, published the "Department of Education and Science Report" in England. In this report the term 'tribology' was introduced and defined. The "Department of Education and Science Report" indicated that the British industry and government could save considerable money by improving their lubrication practices. The field of tribology is extremely diverse with challenges in many different areas of study including: materials science, fluid dynamics, contact mechanics, dynamics, heat transfer, chemistry, physics, controls, surface characterization, and many more.

The Tribology Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Florida is actively involved in a wide variety of tribological research and tribology education. The laboratory conducts studies, primarily, in solid lubrication (investigating the friction and wear of materials). The research goals are to engineer and design materials that have improved wear resistance - enables components made of these materials to last longer , reduced friction coefficient - which saves energy, improves efficiency, and generally results in smoother operation, and can survive extreme environments where conventional fluid lubricants are not effective -temperatures above 350C and below -40C, vacuum environments, and many others. One of the new and exciting areas of research that our lab is conducting is nano-filled composite materials. These materials are made by reinforcing various thermoplastics with various nanometer sized metal oxide and carbon fillers.

In addition to working on new materials, the tribology laboratory is working on a number of solid lubricating systems. Vapor-phase lubrication is an in situ solid lubrication process that uses chemical reactions to generate lubricous surface films even as the existing films are being worn away. Pulsed Laser Deposition is also being looked at to deliver a continuous supply of lubricant to the bearing contact under conditions where the use of fluid lubricants is precluded.

At a systems level, wear and friction result in a large number of mechanical failures. The phrase "worn out" is so commonly used to describe the limit of part's working lifetime that it has entered our vernacular to frequently mean personal exhaustion. The tribology laboratory is working on including wear in dynamic models for mechanisms. This work will ultimately enable predictions for a mechanisms lifetime based on material selection and operating parameters.