In this episode of the F+L Webcast, host Vicky Villena-Denton talks with Ed Becker — 2007–2008 President and Fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) — about the past, present, and future of the automotive powertrain and what it means for lubricants.Drawing on 30 years at General Motors’ Powertrain division and his current work at Friction & Wear Solutions, LLC, Ed explains how the internal combustion engine became a commoditised “appliance,” revisits the long history of electric vehicles, and unpacks the genuinely difficult fluid challenges electrification has created: dedicated EV gearbox lubricants, electrical conductivity, heat transfer, fluid aging, and the particular demands of hybrids. He closes with a compelling case for tribology as a career — the study of interacting surfaces, applicable everywhere from brakes and bolted joints to adhesives.