With 38 years of research experience in basic and applied tribology, Dr Sethuramiah’s major interest lies in boundary lubrication and wear. He has worked as a UNESCO fellow and as a research scholar at Tokyo Institute of Technology during 1969-73 where he was awarded a D Engg degree. He is a past president of the Tribology Society of India (TSI) and authored the book, ‘Lubricated Wear-Science and Technology’ in 2003. Currently he is pursuing his interest in tribology research through interaction with faculty and students at VIT Vellore, IISc Bangalore, and IIT (BHU) Varanasi. He continues his association at a national level as a life member of TSI through his teaching of tribology and related subjects. Dr Sethuramiah was awarded the lifetime achievement award in R&D by TSI. Dr Rajesh Kumar completed his PhD in the area of running-in and steady state wear processes in 2002 from IIT Delhi. His current research interests at IIT (BHU), Varanasi cover MEMS, probabilistic machine design, optimization, DOE and tribology. He participates in collaborative tribochemistry research with the Department of Chemistry. He is a life member of the Tribology Society of India. Dr Kumar’s work on estimation of wear coefficient in a short duration test of real engines under lubricating condition was given the best paper award in an International Conference on Industrial Tribology (ICIT 2006), at IISc Bangalore.