** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FUTURE AUTOMOTIVE SECTORS, ESPECIALLY ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EVS), REQUIRE EFFICIENT AND HIGHLY CUSTOMIZED LUBRICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR HEAVY-DUTY, HIGH TORQUE, AND ACCELERATION OPERATIONS. THE CONTACT CONDITIONS, REFERRED TO AS THE BOUNDARY-LUBRICATION REGIME, ARE WHERE THE DIRECT CONTACTS BETWEEN THE MATING SURFACE ASPERITIES UNDER LOW LUBRICATING FILM THICKNESS AFFECT FRICTION AND WEAR BEHAVIOR. BIOLUBRICANTS ARE PRODUCED FROM RENEWABLE, NON-TOXIC, AND BIODEGRADABLE NATURAL RESOURCES, SUCH AS VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL-BASED OILS. DUE TO COMPETING LAND AVAILABILITY FOR FOOD PRODUCTION AND INCREASED PRICE OF VEGETABLE OIL-BASED LUBRICANTS, THERE IS A NEED TO FIND ALTERNATE RESOURCES AND PROCESSES THAT CAN BE READILY AVAILABLE, ECONOMICALLY JUSTIFIABLE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TO FORMULATE BIOLUBRICANTS. WASTE COOKING OILS (WCO), WHICH ARE TWO TO THREE TIMES CHEAPER THAN RAW VEGETABLE OILS, CAN PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THIS ASPECT. THERE ARE A FEW TO NO SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS EVALUATING WCO'S POTENTIAL AS AN EFFICIENT LUBRICANT. WE PLAN TO DERIVE LUBRICANT BASE OILS AFTER PROPER FILTRATION AND CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF WCOS IN THIS PROJECT. SELECT IONIC LIQUID ADDITIVES WILL BE MIXED WITH THIS CHEMICALLY MODIFIED BASE OIL TO ENHANCE ITS TRIBOLOGICAL AND THERMO-OXIDATIVE BEHAVIOR. A SET OF RHEOLOGICAL, CORROSION, THERMO-OXIDATIVE, AND TRIBOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS WILL BE PERFORMED ON THE WCO-DERIVED BASE OILS AND IL ADDITIZED FORMULATIONS, THEN COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL EV TRANSMISSION FLUIDS TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL OF THE WCO-DERIVED LUBRICANTS AS THE NEXT GENERATION EV LUBRICANT. A SET OF PROFILOMETRY AND MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES WILL BE PERFORMED TO CORRELATE THE PHYSIO-CHEMICAL AND LUBRICATION PROPERTIES OF THE NOVEL FORMULATED LUBRICANTS WITH THEIR FRICTION AND WEAR BEHAVIOR.