Professor Stathis Ioannides has been presented with the Leonardo da Vinci award for his advanced work in the field of tribology. In particular, the award has been presented for Professor Ioannides' work in bridging the gap between tribology theory and its technical and practical application throughout industry, and his contribution to the design of new rolling bearings.
The Leonardo da Vinci International Award was established by the AIPI, The Italian Association of Industrial Designers, and is awarded every two years to Italian and foreign designers, and to Italian companies that have made a valuable contribution to technical industrial innovation.
Tom Johnstone, SKF President and CEO, comments: "I am delighted to see Stathis recognised for his outstanding work in tribology and advanced modelling of bearings. He has played a key role for many years in the development of SKF bearings."
The Leonardo da Vinci award was presented to Professor Ioannides on 4 May 2010 at a prestigious ceremony in Italy.
Professor Ioannides is a world-acknowledged expert in tribology and has led the development of the SKF life theory since 1983. This became the new ISO standard for the calculation of rolling bearing life in 2007 and is said to be used today by all of the world's leading bearing companies.
Professor Ioannides retired from his position as Director for Product Engineering in July 2009 after working for SKF for nearly 30 years. He still works closely with SKF on a consultancy basis and remains a visiting professor at Imperial College London, which is one of the prominent and most renowned universities in the world for tribology studies.