In Memoriam: Frederick F. Ling

Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and one of the most influential tribologists of the 20^th century, Frederick Fongsun Ling died on November 8, 2014 in New York City at the age of 87. Born in Qingdao, China, F. F. Ling received a B.S. in civil engineering from St. John's University in Shanghai in 1947 and left soon; thereafter, for the U.S. on a Ford International Scholarship to Bucknell University, where he received his B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1949. He continued his studies at Carnegie Institute of Technology for a M.S. mechanical engineering (1951), followed by a D.Sc. in mechanical engineering. He began his deep involvement in research on surface mechanics and tribology during his graduate studies; his doctoral dissertation entitled, “An Investigation of Sliding Friction and Interface Temperature Between Two Dry Metallic Surfaces” was completed in 1954. That year he was appointed Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Carnegie...