ASME Honors Ashlie Martini for Her Contributions to the Field of Tribology

NEW YORK, September 25, 2012 — Ashlie Martini, Ph.D., a resident of Atwater, Calif., and assistant professor at the University of California, Merced, will be honored by ASME. She is being recognized for significant contributions to the field of tribology through research, education and service to professional societies as evidenced by the publication of more than two dozen archival papers on various aspects of tribology. She will receive ASME's Burt L. Newkirk Award.

The award, established in 1976, recognizes an individual who has made a notable contribution in tribology research or development, as evidenced by important tribology publications prior to his or her 40th birthday. It will be presented to Dr. Martini during the International Joint Tribology Conference, which is being held in Denver, Oct. 8 through 10.

Martini obtained her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) in 1998. Upon graduation she accepted a position as an information technology consultant with Deloitte Consulting, Chicago, where she worked for four years. She returned to Northwestern University in 2002 to pursue a doctorate in mechanical engineering, in the area of tribology, under the guidance of Professor Jane Wang. Martini obtained her Ph.D. in June 2007 and was offered the position of assistant professor in mechanical engineering at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.) upon graduation, but opted to spend one year doing self-directed postdoctoral research before beginning full time at Purdue in August 2008.

In August 2011, Martini went to the University of California, Merced, where she is actively involved in teaching undergraduate (e.g., machine component design) and graduate courses (e.g., tribology), and maintaining a strong research program in tribology. Her current research focus is on understanding nanoscale tribological phenomena as a means of enabling application-specific interface design. In April 2012, she received a Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Sponsored Research to support research on atomic-scale tuning of solid lubricants for high temperature moving assemblies.

Martini has co-authored more than two dozen refereed journal papers and five magazine articles. She also authored a book chapter—Chapter 8, Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Nanotribology—in Micro- and Nanoscale Phenomena in Tribology (CRC Press, 2011).

An ASME member, Martini has served on the ASME/STLE (Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers) International Joint Tribology Conference Planning Committee as Nanotribology and Student Poster track chair. She is a reviewer for ASME's Journal of Tribology.

Martini is a member of STLE and received a Best Paper Award (2011) from the Surface Engineering Technical Committee. She is also a member of the American Society for Engineering Education.

About ASME ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.