Mano Manoharan receives 2008 Gilbreth Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of nanoscale materials
NISKAYUNA, NY, December 4, 2008 --- GE Global Research, the technology development arm of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), today announced that Mano Manoharan, a senior engineer, has received the Armstrong Endowment for Young Engineers - Gilbreth Lectureship from the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of nanoscale materials.
The Gilbreth Award was named in honor of Lillian Gilbreth, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1965 and a pioneer in the field of human factors. Recipients of this award are invited to give presentations as part of the Gilbreth Lecture series at the NAE Annual and National meetings. The lecture series was established to recognize outstanding engineers. Mano gave his presentation on nanotechnology and industrial research.
National Academy of Engineering President Chuck Vest said, "The National Academy of Engineering is pleased to recognize Dr. Manoharan as a world leader in industrial development and application of nanotechnology. He was selected as a Gilbreth Lecturer by his peers from across the country who participated with him in the NAE's prestigious Frontiers of Engineering program."
Mano was a past speaker at the NAE's Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in a special session on nanotechnology and industrial research. The Symposium brings together a select group of outstanding early-career Indian and American engineers, aged 30-45, from industry, academia and other research institutions for a forum to discuss cutting-edge areas of research and engineering work being done in fields such as nanotechnology.
"Mano's pioneering work in the field of nanoceramics and studies in nanomanufacturing have been universally recognized and more importantly, are helping to write the next chapter in translating nanotechnology research into nano-enabled products," said Margaret Blohm, Advanced Nanotechnology Program Leader, GE Global Research. "In nanotechnology, we read about new, exciting breakthroughs every day. The ultimate challenge though is how to bring these breakthroughs into the marketplace. This is an area where Mano's is having tremendous impact for GE and for the rest of the nanotechnology community."
For three years, Mano has been a leading member of the U.S. Department of Energy's Nanomanufacturing Steering Committee. This Committee has led a major effort to investigate the challenges of nanomanufacturing and assess the future impact nanotechnology can have in producing more innovative products and processes across many industry applications. A specific focus of the Committee has been how nano-enabled products could promote more energy efficient and environmental product alternatives. The DOE published a report in December 2007 entitled Nanomanufacturing for Energy Efficiency.
Douglas E. Kaempf, Program Manager for DOE's Industrial Technologies Program, said, "I congratulate Mano on receiving the Gilbreth Award and for his contributions in the field of nanoscale materials. The Department of Energy has recently began a nanomanufacturing initiative within my Office of Industrial Technologies and has relied heavily on Mano for his vision, leadership, and technical expertise in the development of this new and exciting technology area."
Mano Manoharan said, " I am honored to have been chosen by the NAE for the Gilbreth award. I want to thank Margaret Blohm and all my colleagues on the Nanotechnology program at GE Global Research for their support. I also want to thank Doug Kaempf and the DOE-ITP for their leadership in this area and for the opportunity to participate in their efforts."
For several years, Mano led the Nanoceramics program at GE Global Research, which consists of a global team of about 25 researchers, working both at Niskayuna, NY and Bangalore, India. This program is aimed at developing the next-generation of structural and functional ceramics by exploiting the unique properties of these materials at the nanoscale. He also is the program manager on several multi-million dollar programs in nanoceramics funded by DOE and DOD aimed at better fluorescent lamps, ceramic armor components and sensors.
Recently, Mano was promoted to Operations Manager for GE's John F. Welch Research Center in Bangalore, India. In his new role, Mano will look at a broad range of technical programs across GE's Global Research organization and help identify collaboration opportunities and synergies across businesses and technology teams.
Mano has worked in both industry and academia prior to joining GE. He spent four years at Unilever Research where his research focused on structure property relationships and processing techniques for soft solid composites. He spent five years as a faculty member at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore where he was an Associate Professor. He was also a faculty member of the Singapore-MIT alliance.
Mano holds a PhD in metallurgical engineering from The Ohio State University. He has 50 publications in refereed journals, 10 patents granted and 20 filed.
About GE Global Research
GE Global Research is one of the world's most diversified industrial research labs, providing innovative technology for all of GE's businesses. Global Research has been the cornerstone of GE technology for more than 100 years, developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as medical imaging, energy generation technology, jet engines and lighting.
GE Global Research is headquartered in Niskayuna, New York and has facilities in Bangalore, India, Shanghai, China and Munich, Germany. Visit GE Global Research at www.ge.com/research.
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ge.com/. GE is Imagination at Work.
Todd Alhart
GE
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