20 Minutes With... Tedric A. Harris

Tribology & Lubrication Technology, Sep 2007 by Phipps, Karl M

With careers in both industry and academia, this mechanical engineer has helped chart the future direction of rolling element bearings.

Editor's Note: Tedric Harris' name was submitted for a 20 Minutes profile by STLE's Bearings and Bearing Lubrication Technical Committee.

Professional experience

* The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Adjunct Professor, 2001-Present.

* The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Professor, 1997-2001.

* The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Professor, 1991-1996.

* MRC Bearings, SKF USA, Inc., Jamestown, N.Y., Vice President, Engineering & Research, 1987-1991.

* SKF USA, Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., President, SKF Tribonetics, 1986-1987.

* SKF USA, Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., Vice President, Product Engineering & Quality, 19841986.

* SKF Engineering & Research Centre, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, Managing Director, 1980-1984.

* SKF Industries, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., President, Specialty Bearings Division, 1977-1979.

* SKF Group Headquarters, Gothenburg, Sweden, Director, SKF Group Information Systems, 1973-1977.

* SKF Industries, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., Director, Management Information Systems, 1971-1973.

* SKF Industries, Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., Manager, Analytical Services, 1969-1971.

* Jones & Harris Consulting Engineers, Hartford, Conn., Consulting engineer in ball and roller bearing application technology, 1968.

* Drexel Institute of Technology, Philadelphia, Pa., Instructor in Machine Design, 1963-1965.

* SKF Industries, Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., Supervisor, Bearing Technology, 1960-1968.

* Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., Analytical Design Engineer, 1955-1959.

* Hamilton Standard Division, United Aircraft Corp., Windsor Locks, Conn., Development Test Engineer, 1953-1955.

Education

* The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 1953.

* The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 1954.

* The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Post-graduate, 1955-1959.

Professional Affiliations

* STLE

* Executive Committee Member, ASME Lubrication Division

* ASME Research Committee on Lubrication

* Past Chairman, ASME Tribology Division, Executive Committee

* Past Chairman, ASME Tribology Division, Nominations & Oversight Committee

Awards & Honors

* STLE International Award, 2007.

* Penn State Outstanding Engineeering Alumnus, 2007.

* ASME Tribology Division Award for Outstanding Research, 2002.

* ASME Tribology Division Award for Best Paper, 2000.

* ASME International Life Fellow Member, 1997.

* ASME International Fellow Member, 1973.

* STLE Walter D. Hodson Award, 1968.

* STLE Wilbur Deutsch Memorial Award, 1965.

* Sigma Tau Honorary Engineering Society

* Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society

* Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honorary Society

Publications

* Author of 68 publications, mostly on ball and roller bearing engineering, including the book, Rolling Bearing Analysis, 5th Edition, Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 2006.

How did you get started working in the field of rolling bearings?

In 1952 when I was a senior studying mechanical engineering at Penn State University, I received an unsolicited job offer from a major U.S. rolling bearings company. At the time I wasn't interested in the job because the field seemed to me to be very narrow and rather uninteresting.

After completing graduate school at Penn State, my first job was with Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Co. I worked on the air conditioning system of the first supersonic airplane for the U.S. Navy. Two years later, I joined Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Laboratory where I worked on the power plants for the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, again for the U.S. Navy. Aircraft and nuclear power were the hot industries at the time.

After five years at Westinghouse when 1 was passed over for a supervisory position, I answered an ad in the newspaper and, subsequently, accepted a position as staff engineer in charge of rolling bearing analysis for SKF Industries, Inc., which was headquartered in Sweden. SKF is considered one of the world's largest manufacturers of ball and roller bearings.

It was not very long after I joined SKF that I knew I made the right choice to enter the field of rolling bearings.

What is your biggest satisfaction of having chosen a career in this field?

After working in the industry a short time, I realized that ball and roller bearings were used in every engineering mechanism of any significance. I was working with customers who used rolling bearings in aircraft engines, electric motors of all sizes, rolling mills, dental drills, machine tools, space vehicles, nuclear power plants, etc. So I found out the field was not narrow; rather, it is very broad.

Moreover, with the ever-demanding requirements for faster machinery carrying heavier loading in difficult operating environments, the need for improvement in rolling bearings was evident. This afforded me the opportunity to help define the designs of modern rolling bearings. Advances were being made in bearing steels and other materials, bearing geometries, methods of bearing manufacture and understanding of bearing lubrication, particularly elastohydrodynamic lubrication.