Crystal Ball

<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20261102/1793626066138605.png" title="1793626066138605.png" alt="1.png"/></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As I write this, it is before the 2026 Fall Technical Meeting being held October 5–7, 2026, in Rosemont, IL. But as you read this, the event has already happened, so I must look deeply into my crystal ball to read the reflections and predict how great the event was. If I can see the images clearly, we all had a great time hearing from all of our presenters, relishing the many networking opportunities, figuring out “whodunnit” in our murder mystery dinner, and enjoying our new second track presentations. For now, I want to highlight a very important part of our program: the awards presentations. The Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) presented numerous awards during the 2026 Fall Technical Meeting (FTM). The event took place on the first day of the FTM, which was co-located with the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). Awards are presented to MPMA technical committee members who have published a document within the last year, ISO delegates representing the US on working groups, and a very special posthumous award. The members of the AGMA 948 Working Group were awarded for publishing AGMA 948-A26,&nbsp;Electrified Vehicle Drivetrains. The following working group members were given awards: Anu&nbsp;Anisetti, Eaton Corporation Michael Tekletsion Berhan, Ford Motor Company Matthew Bollman, Charter Steel</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeffrey Daniels, Twin Disc, Incorporated Jacob Dickie, Ontario Drive &amp; Gear Brett Dionne, RENK America Bill Hankes, Thyssenkrupp Polysius North America, Inc. Vanyo Kirov, Caterpillar Inc Michael McKernin, McKernin Consulting Jitesh Modi, Schaeffler Group USA Inc. John O&#39;Neil, Star Cutter Company Calogero Principato, KISSsoft AG</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy Raycraft, JTEKT North America Ernie Reiter, Web Gear Services Ltd. Brian Rhode, Afton Chemical Corporation Patrick Ridgley, The Boeing Company J. Kirk Storey, Alchemetric Engineering LLC David Talbot, Ohio State University, Department of Mechanical Engineering Antoine Tuerich, Gleason Pfauter Maschinenfabrik GmbH Dairene Uy, Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. Walt Weber, Flender Corporation Allen Williston, A&amp;J Engineering Carlos Wink, Eaton Mobility Hai Xu, General Motors Company Shuo Zhang, Allison Transmission MPMA also recognized our new volunteer ISO delegates who represent the US position on ISO standards development projects in both the bearing and gearing committees. Hani Almoghrabi, NORD Gear Corporation Chris Bartus, Dodge Industrial Nikhil Londhe, The Timken Company Doug Martin, SKF Americas and Pacific Keith Meyers, SKF Americas and Pacific James Voisine, RBC Bearings Scott Warren, The Timken Company</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our special award, the MPMA Hall of Fame, was given to the late Robert Errichello’s wife, Jane, in recognition of Bob’s many years of standards contributions, education, publications, and consulting in the bearing and gear industries. One of Bob’s last acts was to donate his entire library of books, research, and documents to MPMA. Thanks to the MPMA Foundation and with Jane’s assistance, we are working on making that library available to our members. We even had a table at the FTM with some of Bob’s general engineering books available for free to help spread his work throughout the industry. My crystal ball rarely gets it right. This time, I hope it did!</span></p>