General Electric Research Laboratory
Encyclopedia
General Electric Research Laboratory, the first industrial research facility in the United States, was established in 1900. This lab was home to the early technological breakthroughs of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 and created a research and development environment that set the standard for industrial innovation for years to come. It developed into the GE Global Research
GE Global Research
GE Global Research is the research and development division of General Electric.GE Global Research's primary facility is located in Niskayuna, New York. The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center is a satelite facility located in Van Buren, Michigan...

 lab that now covers an array of technological research, ranging from healthcare to transportation systems. It was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1975.

Founding

Founded in 1900 by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

, Willis R. Whitney, and Charles Steinmetz, this lab defined industrial research for years to come. Elihu Thomson
Elihu Thomson
Elihu Thomson was an American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France.-Early life:...

, one of the founding members of the laboratory, summed up the goal of the lab saying, “It does seem to me therefore that a Company as large as the General Electric Company, should not fail to continue investing and developing in new fields: there should, in fact, be a research laboratory for commercial applications of new principles, and even for the discovery of those principles." Furthermore, Edwin W. Rice
Edwin W. Rice
Edwin Wilbur Rice, Jr. was a president and considered one of the three fathers of General Electric ....

, founding vice president, said they wanted to “establish a laboratory to be devoted exclusively to original research. It is hoped by this means that many profitable fields may be discovered.” Whitney and the founders of the research lab took many of their lab ideals from a German university model. German universities allowed professors to research and experiment with their own interests to seek further knowledge without having commercial or economic interests in mind. Other German scientists also researched exclusively with business in mind. But, these two views contributed to a successful relationship between science and industry. It was this success that influenced Whitney in his vision for the GE Research Lab.

The laboratory began at a time when the American electrification process was in its infant stage. General Electric became the leader of this move toward electrifying the United States and developing new technologies for many other science and technology fields. Willis Whitney and his assistant, Thomas Dempster, were the key researchers in developing the electrical technology that allowed the laboratory to continue to grow. The lab grew from 8 people to 102 people by 1906, which included scientifically trained researchers that made up 40% of the staff. Whitney believed in exploratory scientific research, with the goal of creating new commercial products. These two goals appealed to General Electric. For researchers, the lab provided time and money for experimentation, research, and personal interests without putting a high demand on developing theories or teaching.

General Electric Research Laboratory, the first industrial research facility in the United States, was established in 1900. This lab was home to the early technological breakthroughs of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 and created a research and development environment that set the standard for industrial innovation for years to come. General Electric. "Heritage of Research." 2010. http://www.ge.com/company/history/research.html (accessed 22 November 2010). It developed into the GE Global Research
GE Global Research
GE Global Research is the research and development division of General Electric.GE Global Research's primary facility is located in Niskayuna, New York. The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center is a satelite facility located in Van Buren, Michigan...

 lab that now covers an array of technological research, ranging from healthcare to transportation systems. It was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1975. and

Founding

Founded in 1900 by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

, Willis R. Whitney, and Charles Steinmetz, this lab defined industrial research for years to come. Elihu Thomson
Elihu Thomson
Elihu Thomson was an American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France.-Early life:...

, one of the founding members of the laboratory, summed up the goal of the lab saying, “It does seem to me therefore that a Company as large as the General Electric Company, should not fail to continue investing and developing in new fields: there should, in fact, be a research laboratory for commercial applications of new principles, and even for the discovery of those principles." General Electric. "Heritage of Research." 2010. http://www.ge.com/company/history/research.html (accessed 22 November 2010). Furthermore, Edwin W. Rice
Edwin W. Rice
Edwin Wilbur Rice, Jr. was a president and considered one of the three fathers of General Electric ....

, founding vice president, said they wanted to “establish a laboratory to be devoted exclusively to original research. It is hoped by this means that many profitable fields may be discovered.” Guy Bartlett. "The General Electric Research Laboratory. What It Is and What It Has Accomplished.” Journal of Chemical Education". 6. 10 (1929), 1619. ACS Publications (accessed November 28, 2010). Whitney and the founders of the research lab took many of their lab ideals from a German university model. German universities allowed professors to research and experiment with their own interests to seek further knowledge without having commercial or economic interests in mind. Other German scientists also researched exclusively with business in mind. But, these two views contributed to a successful relationship between science and industry. It was this success that influenced Whitney in his vision for the GE Research Lab.Thomas P. Hughes. American Genesis. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

The laboratory began at a time when the American electrification process was in its infant stage. General Electric became the leader of this move toward electrifying the United States and developing new technologies for many other science and technology fields. Willis Whitney and his assistant, Thomas Dempster, were the key researchers in developing the electrical technology that allowed the laboratory to continue to grow. The lab grew from 8 people to 102 people by 1906, which included scientifically trained researchers that made up 40% of the staff. Whitney believed in exploratory scientific research, with the goal of creating new commercial products. These two goals appealed to General Electric. For researchers, the lab provided time and money for experimentation, research, and personal interests without putting a high demand on developing theories or teaching.

General Electric Research Laboratory, the first industrial research facility in the United States, was established in 1900. This lab was home to the early technological breakthroughs of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 and created a research and development environment that set the standard for industrial innovation for years to come. General Electric. "Heritage of Research." 2010. http://www.ge.com/company/history/research.html (accessed 22 November 2010). It developed into the GE Global Research
GE Global Research
GE Global Research is the research and development division of General Electric.GE Global Research's primary facility is located in Niskayuna, New York. The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center is a satelite facility located in Van Buren, Michigan...

 lab that now covers an array of technological research, ranging from healthcare to transportation systems. It was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1975. and

Founding

Founded in 1900 by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

, Willis R. Whitney, and Charles Steinmetz, this lab defined industrial research for years to come. Elihu Thomson
Elihu Thomson
Elihu Thomson was an American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France.-Early life:...

, one of the founding members of the laboratory, summed up the goal of the lab saying, “It does seem to me therefore that a Company as large as the General Electric Company, should not fail to continue investing and developing in new fields: there should, in fact, be a research laboratory for commercial applications of new principles, and even for the discovery of those principles." General Electric. "Heritage of Research." 2010. http://www.ge.com/company/history/research.html (accessed 22 November 2010). Furthermore, Edwin W. Rice
Edwin W. Rice
Edwin Wilbur Rice, Jr. was a president and considered one of the three fathers of General Electric ....

, founding vice president, said they wanted to “establish a laboratory to be devoted exclusively to original research. It is hoped by this means that many profitable fields may be discovered.” Guy Bartlett. "The General Electric Research Laboratory. What It Is and What It Has Accomplished.” Journal of Chemical Education". 6. 10 (1929), 1619. ACS Publications (accessed November 28, 2010). Whitney and the founders of the research lab took many of their lab ideals from a German university model. German universities allowed professors to research and experiment with their own interests to seek further knowledge without having commercial or economic interests in mind. Other German scientists also researched exclusively with business in mind. But, these two views contributed to a successful relationship between science and industry. It was this success that influenced Whitney in his vision for the GE Research Lab.Thomas P. Hughes. American Genesis. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

The laboratory began at a time when the American electrification process was in its infant stage. General Electric became the leader of this move toward electrifying the United States and developing new technologies for many other science and technology fields. Willis Whitney and his assistant, Thomas Dempster, were the key researchers in developing the electrical technology that allowed the laboratory to continue to grow. The lab grew from 8 people to 102 people by 1906, which included scientifically trained researchers that made up 40% of the staff. Whitney believed in exploratory scientific research, with the goal of creating new commercial products. These two goals appealed to General Electric. For researchers, the lab provided time and money for experimentation, research, and personal interests without putting a high demand on developing theories or teaching.Pamela Mack. "Industrial Research Laboratories." October 10, 2005. http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/PamMack/lec122/indres.htm (accessed 22 November 2010). Nearly 30 years after its founding, the laboratory had expanded the staff to more than 400 chemists, physicists, and electrical engineers, plus their assistants.

Early success

It took several years for the lab to follow through with the vision to create all original innovations, instead of improving on the inventions already in place. GE’s earliest project was perfecting the incandescent light bulb
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...

. In 1908, engineer and new head researcher William Coolidge
William David Coolidge
William David Coolidge was an American physicist, who made major contributions to X-ray machines. He was the director of the General Electric Research Laboratory and a vice-president of the corporation...

 invented the ductile tungsten light bulb filament, providing a more durable and long-lasting light filament than the existing technology. “The invention secured GE's technological leadership in the market and epitomized the role of the GE research lab — bringing innovation to the marketplace." But, that work was still an improvement on existing technology and nothing entirely new. In the coming years, GE scientists earned two Nobel Prizes in chemistry and physics. In 1932, Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...

 won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on surface chemical reactions which helped him develop the gas-filled light bulb in 1916. After patenting many inventions, Langmuir developed his new light bulb which reinvented lights altogether. By 1928, due to Langmuir's innovation, GE held 96% of incandescent light sales in America. That entirely new invention set GE on a path to follow through with Whitney and Rice's vision for the lab.

Later history

Starting with the success of the incandescent and gas-filled light bulbs, General Electric expanded its research to a range of technological and scientific fields. It strove for commercial goals in any innovation they achieved. Throughout its history, the General Electric Research Laboratory has earned thousands of patents for innovative technology, redefining industries and commercial products.

In 1999, the laboratory became GE Global Research
GE Global Research
GE Global Research is the research and development division of General Electric.GE Global Research's primary facility is located in Niskayuna, New York. The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center is a satelite facility located in Van Buren, Michigan...

 after opening a research center in Bangalore, India. GE now has research laboratories in New York, India, China, and Germany- all of which make up GE's push for global innovation. GE has expanded its research beyond lighting to appliances, aviation, electrical distribution, energy, healthcare, media & entertainment, oil & gas, transportation, and water, along with numerous other fields.General Electric, "GE Global Research." 2010. http://ge.geglobalresearch.com (accessed 23 November ). They employ 3,000 employees and continue to bring innovation and technology to the world, the same goal of General Electric that was first proposed by Whitney and Steinmetz.

Notable historic innovations

  • 1900: GE Industrial Research Laboratory is established
  • 1902: Electric fan
  • 1908: Tungsten light bulb filament
  • 1910: First electric hotpoint range
  • 1916: Gas-filled light bulb
  • 1918: Record-capacity water wheel generator at Niagara Falls
  • 1918: Trans-oceanic radio system
  • 1920: Portable x-ray machine
  • 1921: GE turbosupercharger engine helps an aircraft reach a record altitude
  • 1921: Magnetron vacuum tube
  • 1927: First television brought into the home
  • 1941: First U.S. Jet Engine
  • 1943: First auto-pilot system
  • 1946: Cloud seeding developed
  • 1949: The J49 jet engine is developed, which came to be the most produced jet engine in history
  • 1962: Solid-state laser
  • 1969: Key technologies in the first moon landing
  • 1976: Computed Tomography (CT) scanner
  • 1983: Signa Magnetic Resonance Imaging system (MRI)
  • 2002: Popularization of wind turbines
  • 2003: Fuel-efficient Evolution Series locomotive engine
  • 2007: First 24 cylinder internal combustion engineGeneral Electric, "GE Innovation Timeline." 2010. http://www.ge.com/innovation/timeline/index.html (accessed 23 November ).

Notable employees

  • Alexander Stepanov
    Alexander Stepanov
    Alexander Alexandrovich Stepanov is the primary designer and implementer of the C++ Standard Template Library, which he started to develop around 1992 while employed at HP Labs...

    , computer scientist
  • Charles Coffin
    Charles A. Coffin
    Charles Albert Coffin was the cofounder and first President of General Electric corporation. He was born in Somerset, Massachusetts to Albert Coffin and his wife Anstrus Varney. He married Caroline Russell of Holbrook, Massachusetts and had three children.He moved to join his uncle Charles E...

    , businessman and engineer
  • Charles Proteus Steinmetz
    Charles Proteus Steinmetz
    Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a German-American mathematician and electrical engineer. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers...

    , mathematician and electrical engineer
  • David Musser
    David Musser
    David Musser is a professor of computer science at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, U.S.He is known for his work in generic programming, particularly as applied to C++. His research with Alexander Stepanov led to the creation of the C++ Standard Template Library...

    , computer scientist
  • Elihu Thomson
    Elihu Thomson
    Elihu Thomson was an American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France.-Early life:...

    , engineer and inventor
  • Irving Langmuir
    Irving Langmuir
    Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...

    , Nobel Laureate, chemist and physicist
  • Ivar Giaever
    Ivar Giaever
    Ivar Giaever is a physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Leo Esaki and Brian Josephson "for their discoveries regarding tunnelling phenomena in solids". Giaever's share of the prize was specifically for his "experimental discoveries regarding tunnelling phenomena in ......

    , Nobel Laureate and physicist
  • LeRoy Apker
    LeRoy Apker
    LeRoy W. Apker was an American experimental physicist. Along with his colleagues E. A. Taft and Jean Dickey, he studied the photoelectric emission of electrons from semiconductors and discovered the phenomenon of exciton-induced photoemission in potassium iodide. In 1955, he received the Oliver E...

    , solid-state physicist
  • Ralph Alpher, cosmologist
  • Thomas Edison
    Thomas Edison
    Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

    , inventor, scientist and businessman
  • William David Coolidge
    William David Coolidge
    William David Coolidge was an American physicist, who made major contributions to X-ray machines. He was the director of the General Electric Research Laboratory and a vice-president of the corporation...

    , physicist
  • Willis Rodney Whitney
    Willis Rodney Whitney
    Willis Rodney Whitney was an American chemist and founder of the research laboratory of the General Electric Company.- Early life and studies :...

    , chemist

See also

  • Bell Labs
    Bell Labs
    Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...

  • DuPont
    DuPont
    E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...

  • Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory
    Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory
    Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory is a research and development facility dedicated to the support of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. KAPL is a government-owned, contractor operated laboratory run by Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation for the United States Department of Energy. KAPL is...

  • List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

  • Menlo Park, New Jersey
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Schenectady County, New York
  • Westinghouse Electric
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