Valentin L. Popov is a full professor at Technische Universität (TU), Berlin. He studied physics and obtained his doctorate in 1985 from Moscow State Lomonosov University. Since 2002, he has been the head of the Department of System Dynamics and the Physics of Friction at TU Berlin. He has published over 300 papers in leading international journals and is the author of the book "Contact Mechanics and Friction: Physical Principles and Applications", which appeared in ten editions in German, English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and French. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering/Tribology, a member of editorial boards of many international journals and the organizer of more than 20 international conferences and workshops over diverse tribological themes. Prof. Popov is Honorary Professor of the Tomsk Polytechnic University, of East China University of Science and Technology and of Changchun University of Science and Technology, as well as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Tsinghua University. His areas of interest include tribology, nanotribology, tribology at low temperatures, biotribology and the influence of friction through ultrasound, as well as the numerical simulation of contact and friction, earthquakes, or synovial joint regenerative rehabilitation.