Dr.-Ing. Carlos Härtel (43) was named as  the new Managing Director of the GE Global Research Center Europe in June 2007. In his previous position, Dr. Carlos Härtel managed the Laboratory for Alternative Energies at the Global Research Center Europe. He joined the company in 2003 and established a research team consisting of 25 employees.

Dr. Härtel played a key role in establishing partnerships with universities and companies and developed the scientific cooperation with various divisions of GE.

Prior to joining GE, Dr. Härtel held positions as scientist and manager in the development of gas turbines at Alstom (Schweiz) AG. He studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen and at the Technical University of Munich. He received a doctorate from the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center), Göttingen, and spent several years in research at ETH Zurich, where he qualified as a university lecturer in 1999. Dr. Härtel owns several patents and has published over fifty scientific papers.

As Managing Director, Dr. Härtel’s main areas of activity will be the continued expansion of the research center, as well as the growing collaboration and interaction with European research partners.

The GE Global Research Center in Garching near Munich is one of four GE Research Centers worldwide. The main areas of research are alternative and renewable energy sources, manufacturing technologies for composite materials, sensors for automotive and security applications and imaging technologies for medical diagnostics.