In recognition of his outstanding achievements in tribology, especially his work on the extension of knowledge of interferomatic tribochemistry techniques.
Dr Hugh Alexander Spikes was born in 1945 and obtained a first degree in Chemistry from Cambridge. He gained his PhD at the University of London in 1972 for his research into surface chemical properties of lubricating oils. In 1995 he became Reader at the Department of Mechanical Engineers at the Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, where he now holds the chair of Tribology at Imperial College London.
Professor Spikes’ background in chemistry has influenced his work in tribology where he has shown a sustained interest in the role of chemistry in producing lubricant films capable of protecting surfaces in sliding and rolling contact.
Whilst the first ten years of his research reflect this approach, he used the skill sets of chemistry, physics and engineering to become a mechanical engineer, a route that few other people feel confident to take. Indeed, his ability to solve a number of long-standing controversies by means of his multi-disciplinary and innovative experimental approach, has made him an important player in the field of tribology.
Professor Spikes has unearthed and ably documented the most thorough understanding of boundary lubrication that exists today. His persistent and energetic attack on the multidisciplinary pieces of this subject has provided a fundamental foundation for practical solutions.
Over the last 15 years his studies of the properties of very thin lubricants in rubbing contacts have transformed our understanding of boundary lubrication and now routinely entered in text books, as well as being used by the additive industry.
He has helped to define and categorise boundary lubrication to an extent that could not have seemed possible in the 1970s and has become a world-acknowledged expert in this field.
A series of experimental work conducted by Professor Spikes and his group provided fundamental knowledge of the transition between the regimes of “fluid-film” and “boundary” lubrication by revealing the theological behaviour of ultra-thin lubricating film of various organic compounds, representing constituents of lubricating oil.
His outstanding work has not been limited to boundary lubrication. Professor Spikes, his students and research associates, have carried out pioneering work in the story of the influence of roughness and non-steady operating conditions on elastohydrodynamic lubrication, and has helped industrial undertakings, especially bearing manufacturers, to optimise the finishing processes employed in manufacture.
Professor Spikes has published over 180 reviewed papers in tribology, spanning a broad range of related topics in the field of tribochemistry and triboengineering. He has received many honours and recognition. In addition to his Tribology Silver Medal, the highest national award in tribology, conferred upon him in 1995, he was the first recipient of the Edmond E Bisson Award of the STLE (1997), he was awarded the Thomas Stephens Prize, IMechE (1997), the Captain Alfred Hunt Award, SICE (1998) and several others.
Professor Spikes’ close contact with industry has led to its rapid uptake into useful tribology practices. Indeed, his work has always been integrated into tribology practice at the engineering level.
Acknowledged to be one of the most interesting and influential tribologists of the last fifty years, he is indeed a worthy recipient of the 2004 Tribology Gold Medal, the highest honour in tribology.