GE Global Research

GE Researches Dedicated MRI Brain Scanner TechnologyDriving new technologies that willhelp expand the availability of MRIscanners beyond the hospital tosmaller clinic settings, GE GlobalResearch and the Mayo Clinic havereceived a five-year, $5.7 milliongrant from the National Institute ofBiomedical Imaging and

Bioengineering, and the National Institute of Neurological Disordersand Stroke, components of the National Institutes of Health. They willjointly conduct research to understand the design and applicationissues involved in the use of a dedicated MRI brain scanner to imagefor a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as stroke,Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, traumatic brain disorder,depression, and autism.

Holographic BreakthroughGE’s research team recentlyannounced the successfuldemonstration of a micro-holographic material that cansupport data recording at thesame speed as Blu-ray discs. Thisbreakthrough, which builds uponan April 2009 demonstration ofmaterial that can support 500gigabytes of storage capacity in a

standard DVD-size disc, has micro-holographic technology morepoised than ever for commercialization. “During the past two years,our research team has been focused on material improvements toincrease the recording speed and making other key advances neededto ready GE’s micro-holographic technology for market,” said PeterLorraine, manager of GE’s Applied Optics Lab. “With a speed to matchBlu-ray’s, discs made from GE’s advanced micro-holographicmaterials are an attractive solution for both archival and consumerentertainment systems.”

Driving Advanced Manufacturing with Blue Arc™ Scientists and engineers at GEGlobal Research recently unveiledtheir Blue Arc™ machiningtechnology that can cut through thetough engineering alloys used inaircraft engines and powergeneration turbines in just a fraction

of time it takes using conventional milling processes. Many of theproducts and equipment in GE’s portfolio require machining offseveral tons of metal into very precisely designed components. Thisadvanced machining technology saves materials and can literallyremove hours, even days, from these manufacturing processes.

In addition to saving time and tooling costs, Blue Arc™ also saveselectricity and reduces plant energy usage. Today, GE’s Blue Arc™technology is being used by its Aviation business to manufactureblisks used in aircraft engines for commercial applications, and GE isexploring licensing opportunities with machine builders and OEM endusers.

Supporting the EV Revolution with Nissan and SAEThe Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International announcedthat Nissan will serve as the Host Company for the SAE 2012 WorldCongress, slated for April 24-26, 2012, in Detroit. For this event,Nissan also announced that GE will serve as the Tier One StrategicPartner for the SAE World Congress. The SAE 2012 World Congresstheme is “Get Connected” which represents the new and diverseconnections that will drive significant advancements in the autoindustry of tomorrow. This partnership emphasizes GE’s current workdeveloping and bringing to market new products and services fromthe grid to the home that can help accelerate and enable the excitingtransformation happening in the automotive sector.

Matt Nielsen, principal scientist and electric vehicle technologiesproject leader at GE Global Research said, “GE is honored to beselected as Nissan’s Tier One Strategic Partner for the 2012 SAEWorld Congress. As automakers continue the drive to cleaner, moreefficient and electric ways to travel, our partnership highlights nextyear’s ‘Get Connected’ theme.”

QuarterlyTechnologyReportVolume 2, Issue 3 Fall 2011

Partnering with MIT to Advance Health CareSupporting its quest throughhealthymagination to reach morepatients with better health careglobally, GE Global Research haspartnered with the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) tocreate a Medical Electronic DeviceRealization Center (MEDRC) at MIT.The MEDRC will help driverevolutionary improvements in

medical imaging systems and devices that take medical diagnosis,treatments and monitoring to the next level. As a first project, GE andMIT will work together to develop a more intelligentultrasound probe and system.

The project’s key goals are to enable a wider range of health careproviders to perform scans and to establish new clinical applicationssuch as measuring whether a mass in the body is cancerous or not.

Cray XE6m Supercomputer AcquisitionGE Global Research has recentlyacquired a Cray XE6msupercomputer, which will be used

to support simulation-based engineering and science across a varietyof disciplines. The Cray system provides GE Global Research theability to run more complex simulations in order to exploremulti-physics challenges, gain higher fidelity insights and pursueareas of science and product development that could not besimulated using standard commodity clusters. GE Global Researchemploys supercomputers to run computational models to designbetter aircraft engines, wind turbines, and many other high-techproducts.

Celebrating 100 Years of Superconductivity2011 marks the centennial anniversary of the discovery ofsuperconductivity. GE Global Research joined New York state businessand technology leaders in celebrating this occasion with aSuperconductivity Technology Summit in early August. At thesummit, world-class speakers from industry, academia andgovernment discussed the current and future impact ofsuperconductor technologies and New York State’s opportunity tostrengthen its presence in and benefit from business opportunities insuperconductor technologies.

MRI Technology & Systems Leader at GE Global Research, KathleenAmm, was honored at the Summit for her work in superconductivityand contributions to New York state’s technology portfolio. “We'reeven more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for thesuperconductor field to become an even greater economic force forour State in the years to come," said Amm.

Did you know? This year, GE served as one of the sponsors for Maker Faire Bay Area2011. Part science fair, part welding shop, part county fair, MakerFaire was a unique playground for GE and our researchers. Two GEGlobal Research scientists spoke at the Health 2.0 Stage about thefuture of healthcare technology. An electrical engineer in theBiomedical Electronic Systems Lab, Jeff Ashe, spoke about wirelessmedical monitoring of hospital patients, a cutting-edge healthcareplatform expected to increase patient mobility and lessen recoverytime. Peter Tu, a computer scientist in the Software Sciences &Analytics team, discussed Computer Vision and Visualizationtechnologies and how they will create the “smart patient room of thefuture.” To learn more about GE’s involvement at Maker Faire, youcan read blog entries by both speakers at www.edisonsdesk.com.

Featured Technologist Manoj Shah, Ph.D.Manoj R. Shah, an electrical engineer in theElectrical Machines Laboratory has beenawarded the prestigious IEEE Nikola TeslaAward for 2012. The Nikola Tesla Award is thehighest award given by the IEEE in ElectricPower Engineering for a team or to anindividual "that has made an outstanding

contribution to the generation or utilization of electric power."

Manoj is focused on developing advanced solutions for increasingcapability of existing generators and developing novel machines andanalysis techniques. His work has earned him 44 US issued patentsand he has been published in more than 36 external publications.

“Throughout his career at GE, Manoj has significantly affected thedevelopment of electrical machines in virtually every GE business thateither manufactures or applies electrical machines,” said GE GlobalResearch Power Conversion & Delivery Technology Leader, KonradWeeber.

Featured Lab Additive ManufacturingGE Global Research recentlyannounced its newest lab in thefield of Additive Manufacturing. Inthe Additive Manufacturing lab,

researchers are currently developing the next generation ofmanufacturing technologies that will replace traditional approachesof cutting and machining parts down, with new methods that buildparts up. By adding instead of removing materials to design andbuild a product, this technique could achieve dramatic reductions inGE’s material needs and enable more advanced product designsacross the company’s industrial businesses.

Researchers in the Additive Manufacturing Lab are exploringcutting-edge processes such as 3-D printing and laser deposition,and applying them to GE manufacturing applications. GE researchersare working on additive manufacturing technologies to reduce thelabor and production costs of ultrasound systems and in complexaircraft engine components.

Quarterly Technology Report Volume 2, Issue 3 • Fall 2011

Visit us online!Stay up-to-date with the latest happenings at GE Global Research. Visit us on the web at www.ge.com/research, or connect with our technologists at www.edisonsdesk.com and http://twitter.com/edisonsdesk.