GE Global Research Innovation Update - Commemorating Thomas Edison's Birthday February 11, 2003.

Business Editors

FAIRFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2003

On this day, 156 years ago, Thomas Alva Edison was born in a small town in Ohio.

Over the course of his amazing career, this prolific inventor created and improved upon thousands of technologies that revolutionized human life. As one of the founders of the General Electric Company, Edison is the focus of this special edition of GE's Innovation Update, highlighting some of his many innovations and the R&D process he pioneered - a process still followed to this day. In addition, we surveyed Americans on what they think of Edison's innovations and with what modern innovations they think Edison would be most impressed.

Beyond a Bulb

According to a recent survey commissioned by GE, 73 percent of Americans believe that Edison's most important invention was the incandescent lamp. However, at the time Edison invented a useable incandescent lamp, there was no means of supplying electricity to homes, rendering his bulb virtually useless to most people. Realizing that widespread use of electric light bulbs required an efficient system of dispersing electricity, he developed a plan to distribute electricity in small amounts from a central location to thousands of homes and businesses. Developing numerous innovations in electricity generation, storage and distribution, Edison's plan came to fruition in 1882 with the opening of the first commercial power station on Pearl Street in Manhattan. The station provided light and power to customers in a one square mile area and began the "electric age."

Edison's innovations in electricity generation are the foundation for GE Power Systems, which today is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services and management systems. From Edison's .75 kilowatt, steam driven dynamo, GE today produces millions of watts of electricity around the world with state of the art technology in combined cycle, steam, gas, wind and hydro turbines.

The Greatest Invention: A Means to Innovation

Since Edison often found it necessary to invent the collateral technologies needed to bring his innovations to the marketplace, he invested a large quantity of his earnings to build the first-ever industrial research and development laboratories. The largest was a 20-acre facility located in West Orange, NJ that included a chemistry lab, physics lab, metallurgy lab, pattern shop and power plant; this lab provided enough space for Edison to work on up to 20 different inventions at the same time.

The majority of historians agree that Edison's "Invention Factory" was probably his most important invention because it laid the groundwork for a method of invention. Edison's lab was the first place where technologies could be thoroughly and efficiently developed and tested in an environment completely focused on innovation. Today, research and development facilities are critical elements to nearly every major business.

GE continues the Edison tradition with R&D facilities throughout the world. The core is GE's Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY, the modern day incarnation of Edison's West Orange lab. Opened in 1900, by Edison contemporary Charles Steinmetz, over 1,200 researchers work there today. World wide, GE spends $2.3 billion annually and employs more than 15,000 researchers, engineers and scientists to uncover the next technological breakthroughs that will change the landscape for GE businesses and improve the lives of GE's customers. In 2002 alone, GE was awarded over 1,400 U.S. patents.

Following Edison's spirit of innovation, a number of distinguished scientists have developed revolutionary technologies: Physicist William D. Coolidge changed the fields of lighting and medicine and Albert Hull invented the magnetron electronic vacuum tube and dozens of other electronic devices. What's more, two GE scientists were named Nobel Laureates: Irving Langmuir was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1932 for ground-breaking work in chemistry and Ivar Giaever was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 for his work in studying superconductivity and opening the path to a whole new class of electronic devices.

In the last century, GE scientists developed the ductile tungsten filament, the modern form of the X-ray tube, the modern process for making silicones, a reproducible process for making diamonds, high-field magnetic resonance imaging systems (MRI), and the solid-state laser on which most modern photocopiers and fax machines are based.

Currently, scientists at GE are conducting R&D in a number of different areas, including:

-- Alternative energy systems

-- Wind

-- Solar

-- Fuel cells

-- Hydrogen

-- Higher efficiency, longer range jet engines

-- High performance materials, such as a high-gloss, scratch-resistant, highly weatherable plastic film that eliminates the need to paint cars

-- The next revolution in medical imaging - the ability to image biological processes at the cellular level (molecular imaging).

Impressing Edison

As part of this same survey, GE asked, "what modern day invention would most impress Edison?" The respondents were asked to choose from technologies such as cell phones, CD players and digital cameras to electronic/hybrid automobiles, computers and MRIs. Thirty-three percent of respondents rated the computer most likely to impress Edison, followed closely by the MRI, which 24 percent of respondents chose. In third and fourth place respectively, was the cell phone at 21 percent and the electronic/hybrid car at eight percent.

According to the Edison National Historic Web site (www.nps.gov/edis), around the turn of the century, Edison spent a great deal of his time developing an alkaline storage battery suitable for automobiles. He was fascinated with cars and owned a variety of vehicles powered by gas, electricity and steam, but he was convinced that electric propulsion was the best method for powering cars. Although gasoline ultimately became the fuel of choice of automobile manufacturers, if Edison were alive today, the growing availability of hybrid and electric powered cars would likely capture his attention.

As for Edison's most favorite innovation, he was once quoted as saying, "Of all my inventions, I like the phonograph the best!"

GE proudly supports the Edison Preservation Foundation in its work to continue the legacy and learning of Thomas Edison. The Foundation was incorporated in 1996 and has formed a partnership with the National Park Service to raise funds for capital improvements at the Edison historic site in Edison, New Jersey and to ensure the preservation of Edison's legacy at sites across the country.

All historical information relating to Thomas Edison was gathered from the Edison National Historic Web site (www.nps.gov/edis).

For more information on these announcements and other information about GE Global Research, please contact Jim Healy at [phone] / [e-mail] or Amanda Hamilton at [phone] / [e-mail].