The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) — the technical society serving individuals, companies and organizations that comprise the tribology and lubrication engineering business sector — recently announced that Ken Hope, Ph.D., global PAO technical services manager, for Chevron Phillips Chemical in The Woodlands, Texas, will assume the role of 2021-2022 president for a one-year term beginning May 18.  

 

In his new role, Hope will serve as the principal executive officer of the society and as chairman of its board of directors. Hope served on the STLE Board of Directors from 2006 to 2017 and in 2018 became a member of STLE’s Executive Committee, serving one-year terms as treasurer, secretary and vice president.  

 

Joining him on the STLE Executive Committee are Vice President Ryan Evans, Ph.D. (The Timken Company), Secretary Hong Liang, Ph.D. (Texas A&M University), Treasurer Jack McKenna, (Sea-Land Chemical Company), Immediate Past President Paul Hetherington (Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc.) and STLE Executive Director Edward P. Salek. 

 

“Ken is perfectly poised to lead the charge for our technical society,” said Edward P. Salek, CAE, STLE executive director. “His extensive field experience, deep industry knowledge and longtime contributions to STLE will provide members with the insights and information they need to stay ahead of trends and persevere during these unprecedented times.” 

  

During his term, Hope will lead STLE’s volunteers and professional staff in the implementation of a strategic plan that emphasizes education, technical innovation and global advocacy in the areas of tribology and lubrication. Throughout the year, he will represent the society and promote the positive impact tribology can make in industrial and everyday applications.  

 

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has buffeted many industries this past year, this disruption has also spurred tribological advancements in many key areas, including manufacturing, metalworking, transportation and power generation,” said Hope. “As STLE president, my focus will be on keeping our members at the forefront of this transformation — through unique and timely programming, education courses, events and publications.” 

 

With over 30 years of experience, Hope has extensive industry knowledge in polyalphaolefins and the use of synthetic lubricants. Prior to joining Chevron Phillips Chemical, he was a research fellow and team leader for NAO and PAO research and technology with Chevron Corporation — where he was responsible for product development, process improvement and technical service. Hope worked in the analytical group at Chevron Corporation for several years doing NMR research on catalysts and structure/property relationships on various materials. Previously, he was the director of NMR research in the chemistry department at the University of Houston. 

 

Hope is past chair of the STLE Houston Section and participated as a Lubrication School instructor for the STLE Houston, Chicago and Oklahoma Sections. For more than 15 years, he instructed the synthetics module of the Basic Lubrication course at STLE’s annual meeting. He also holds STLE’s Certified Lubrication Specialist (CLS) designation. 

 

A former chair of STLE’s Editorial & Publications Committee, Hope has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Lubrication Science and as a TLT Technical Editor. He also has served as a member of the API Base Oil Interchange/Viscosity Grade Read Across Task Force as well as ASTM and SAE. He has presented more than 70 technical papers at STLE, NLGI, UNITI, ELGI, ACS, AICHE and SAE meetings and holds 21 U.S. patents.