On the last day of 2023 Wilfried BARTZ passed away. Tribologists in Germany and worldwide knew the tireless “lubricant-affine” mechanical engineer and knowledge mediator from his 25 years (till 2002) as Director of the Technical Academy Esslingen (TAE, well known professional training institution in Germany) or from his numerous lectures at international congresses in East and West. He played a significant role in shaping the TAE’s educational program and was a keen lecturer in his favourite field of “lubrication technology”. W. J. BARTZ is also well known for his publishing activities disseminating tribology knowledge in numerous books and conference proceedings, in particular – as Wilfried himself liked to specify – about “wet tribology”. With the transition to pension (not retirement!) Wilfried BARTZ saw a special commitment to help establish the Austrian Competence Centre for Tribology (AC2T research GmbH), to contribute his extensive experience (not only in purely technical matters) and also to act as a mentor and supervisor for young scientists and engineers under the premises of the specific interdisciplinarity and practical applicability.
Wilfried BARTZ was present worldwide in various tribology societies, in particular the events of the German Gesellschaft für Tribologie (GfT) and the Austrian Tribology Society. He had a respectful friendship with H. Peter JOST, the “Father of Tribology”. Numerous institutions honoured Wilfried’s activities as “tribo-ambassador”, in particular by awarding him the Tribology Gold Medal (Tribology Gold Medal Trust, London) and the International Tribology Award (Society of Tribology and Lubrication Engineers – STLE). A great tribologist has left us, but his work will live on!
By Univ.-Prof. DI Dr. Hon.DSc. Friedrich FRANEK
