Sessions & Session Chairs
Sessions
S1. Lubricants
S2. Lubricated Contacts
S3. Mechanics of Contacts
S4. Friction, Wear, Corrosion and Fatigue
S5. Emerging Trends in Tribology
School of Engineering and Computing, University of Lancashire, Preston, UK
Ian has a background in physics and is a Fellow of both the Institute of Physics and the STLE. He spent 30 years in the lubricants business in various roles, including being Global Technology Manager for Shell's Lubrication Science team (2006 to 2012). His research focused on energy-efficient lubricants, and he also managed Shell's University research links in tribology, working with UK, US, and Chinese Universities. Ian has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Central Lancashire since 2020, working on improved models for mixed/boundary friction.
Castrol, Reading, UK
Dr. Sashi Balakrishnan is a technology leader with over 25 years of experience across the automotive, lubricants, and motorsport sectors. He currently serves as OEM Technology Manager at bp (Castrol), leading technical partnerships with global OEMs and shaping long‑term powertrain and low‑carbon technology roadmaps. His career spans senior roles at BP, Mercedes‑AMG High Performance Powertrains (Formula 1), Group Lotus, and PROTON, covering advanced tribology, powertrain R&D, and engineering transformation. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer, and is a widely published author and invited conference speaker.
Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Dr Ramin Rahmani is a Senior Lecturer in Tribology and Dynamics (Tribodynamics) at the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University. He is also a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. With a background in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in tribology, Dr Rahmani’s research centres on the study of friction, wear, and lubrication in mechanical systems, with a particular emphasis on automotive and powertrain applications. His research aims to enhance energy efficiency and component durability, focusing mainly on powertrain systems. Employing a multiphysics and multiscale combined experimental and computational analysis approach, his research explores synergetic lubricant–surface optimisation for mitigating friction and wear, while also assessing impact on noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance in conventional, hydrogen-fuelled, and electrified propulsion systems. Dr Rahmani is an Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Tribology as well as Proc. IMechE, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology.
Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
"Laurea" in Mechanical Engineering cum Laude (University of Pisa, 1984). Employed at the University of Pisa since 1984. Full Professor of Applied Mechanics since 2006. Chairman of the PhD Course in Mechanical Engineering from 2003 to 2007. Research activity covering several tribological subjects as elastohydrodynamic and hydrodynamic lubrication, friction, and wear. Experimental investigations on gears and journal bearings. Member of the Committees of several International Conferences. In particular, Chair of the Program Committee of the 5th World Tribology Congress (Torino, 2013). Member of scientific Associations, particularly AIT (Italian Association of Tribology), ASME, and IFToMM. Secretary of AIT from 2006 to 2008 and President from 2009 to 2014. Chair of the IFToMM Technical Committee for Tribology since 2020. Member of the Editorial Boards of international journals. Author of more than 200 scientific papers and of three didactical books on Lubrication and Mechanics.
School of Engineering and Computing, University of Lancashire, Preston, UK
Patricia graduated from Imperial College London (MSc, PhD, DIC). Her main research is in tribology and contact mechanics (semi-infinite or layered bonded elastic and viscoelastic solids, such as coatings). She also has publications in experimental monitoring of contacts (thin film solids) and numerical analysis of elastohydrodynamics. Another area of interest is active tribology of tilting pad thrust bearings. She has academic research experience funded by the British Ministry of Defence and Westland Helicopters PLC and has industrial R&D experience at Rolls-Royce PLC (aerospace sector). She has also been a Guest Editor for four Special Issues of the journal Lubricants. For the last six years, she has been a member of the Jost Institute of Tribotechnology at the University of Lancashire in the UK.
Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy
Giuseppe Carbone received his MSc in Mechanical Engineering (with honors) in 1998 and a PhD in Advanced Production Systems in 2002 from Politecnico di Bari, where he is currently a Full Professor of Applied Mechanics and Tribology. He served as Head of the Department of Mechanics, Mathematics, and Management (2018–2024) and has been President of the Italian Tribology Association since 2021. He founded the Smart Tribology Lab, internationally recognized for research on tribology, contact mechanics, viscoelasticity, and bio-inspired surfaces, and is leading the China–Italy International Joint Laboratory on Smart Tribology. He has authored over 300 publications (≈170 journal papers), with more than 7,000 citations (H-index 45), and is Associate Editor of Tribology International and Chaos, Solitons & Fractals.
Jihua Laboratory, Foshan, China
Yong Sun is an Engineering Professor at Jihua Laboratory (JHL), Foshan, China. Before joining JHL, he was a Professor of Surface Engineering at the School of Engineering and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K. He has many years of experience in materials engineering education and research. He has worked at several institutions, including the University of Birmingham in the U.K., Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, De Montfort University in the U.K., and Jihua Laboratory in China. His major research areas include surface engineering, tribology, corrosion, and tribocorrosion. He has published more than 240 journal and conference papers, with citations of more than 9250 and an H-index of 52.
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
Ph.D. in Tribology, University of Pisa. Full professor (2021-current) at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Salerno, visiting scientist at Technical University of Berlin (D) under a mobility program funded by DAAD, and visiting professor at the Czech Technical University ČVUT in Prague (CZ). Since 2025, Adolfo Senatore has been chief researcher at the Department of Mechanical, Energy, and Biotechnology Engineering of Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, Kaunas (LT). Editorial board member of journals in the fields of mechanical engineering, frictional systems, and mechatronics, he published 250+ papers, including circa 90 high quality journals. Recipient of 7 paper awards from conferences or journals, coordinator of 10+ research projects under public bodies and/or industry funding.
School of Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil
Henara Costa is a Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil. She obtained her B.S. (1992) and M.Sc. (1995) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil, and her PhD from Cambridge University, UK (2005). She has worked with tribology for over 25 years, with a main focus on reducing friction losses using surface modification and coatings, or lubrication. She has authored over 200 manuscripts in journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She was the editor-in-chief of the journal “Surface Topography: Metrology and Properties” (IOP) and is currently Associate Editor of the “Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering” (Springer). She is a member of IFToMM and of editorial boards of several tribology-related journals. She is the coordinator of the National Research Institute on Green Tribology for the Energy Transition. She is also a visiting professor at Federal University of Uberlândia and at the Federal University of Pelotas, in Brazil, and the Brazilian representative at IEA/AMT, appointed by the Ministry of Energy and Mining.