Investigation on the National Natural Science Foundation Supported Fundamental Research of Tribology

The paper presented here expounds that the tribology discipline is a frontier science to be of significance. The National Natural Science Foundation Committee pays great attention to the basic theoretical research of tribology. During the period from .1986 to 1991, 57 projects in the field of tribology had been supported by the National Foundation. The guide book for applicants issued every year shows the subsidization scope of studying, the areas of research encouraged and directional items in the tribology field. Two key projects had been setted up by the Foundation. Also, the Foundation had invited experts to investigate the development strategy of the tribology discipline. Through the investigation on projects to have been subsidized in the tribology field, in this paper, we discussed how to select the items for hastening further development of tribology and the selection principle could be summarized into the policy that needs to be followed after as: a. The projects selected should be in compliance with the prescription in the investigation report on the development strategy of tribology. b. To encourage persons to bring forth new ideas and to do a novel research. c. To support vigorously the research in the cross fields and to take an effort to foster the symptom of a trend in the studies. d. To make theoretical research items of tribology combined with practical application. e. To promote excellent talents showing themselves through research on tribology.