The GE Brief: June 9, 2021

ENGINEERING A WIN
 
On the evening of May 26, GE engineer Abbey Bugenske was driving from Cincinnati to Cleveland to visit her parents when the governor of Ohio called. She had just been chosen as the first winner of the state’s Vax-a-Million lottery, set up to boost participation in the COVID-19 vaccination program. “I didn’t believe Mike DeWine was calling me,” says Bugenske, who had intended to get the vaccine all along. “Kind of crazy.”
 
Taking flight: Some people might take those winnings and go on a long vacation. Bugenske isn’t one of those people. Having landed a spot in GE’s prestigious Edison Engineering Development Program after graduating from Michigan State University last year, she’s too busy deciding which of the many areas of aviation she wants to pursue. Bugenske is earning her master’s in aerospace engineering at Ohio State while completing the Edison program, and is now doing her first rotation in aeroderivatives on the LM9000 gas turbine. “It’s been a lot to take in,” she says of her first months at GE Aviation, “but I think the learning curve has definitely leveled. At this point, I’m just excited to dive deeper.”
 
You can read more about Abbey Bugenske’s amazing year here.

FINNISHING STRONG
 
The coronavirus pandemic changed the world in many ways. It forced companies to quickly adapt to a new reality. Lockdowns also took their toll on the elderly, who could not see their friends and family, or meet up for their morning walks. For three tech firms in Finland, this opened the door to an opportunity. At GE’s Health Innovation Village, a business incubator and accelerator housed inside GE Healthcare headquarters in Helsinki, the leaders of three startups joined forces to make life better for seniors while also advancing their businesses.
 
So many ways to help: One of the companies working with the Village is Rehaboo!, creator of a physical therapy video game aimed at children. The game turned out to be a great way for seniors to get exercise and even interact via their computers. Miils, a company that develops software to help people choose the right groceries and design meal plans customized to their individual needs, repurposed their product to help elderly people do their shopping. And Emfit, which made an under-mattress sleep monitor for athletes and medical researchers, pivoted the product for seniors and their relatives, who can now be alerted if, say, their loved one doesn’t return to bed after getting a drink of water at night. “We have similar customers,” noted Peter Gréen, Rehaboo!’s CEO and a co-founder of the Health Innovation Village. “We are not competing with each other at all. Let’s do things together.”
 
Read more about Innovation Village’s latest innovations.

THE COOLEST THINGS ON EARTH ?
 
1. Breathing Easier
A research team in Houston has developed an antibody treatment for COVID-19 that’s inhaled through the nose.

2. Honey, I Shrunk The Light!
Electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego have created an advanced imaging material that improves light microscopes’ resolution to depict living cells in much greater detail.
 
3. Super Hearing
Researchers at Finland’s Aalto University invented a technology that lets humans hear at ultrasonic frequencies and better detect the direction of sounds.
 
Learn more here about this week’s Coolest Things On Earth.

— QUOTE OF THE DAY —

“GE has been kind of a dream company for me for a while.”

— Abbey Bugenske, Edison engineer and Vax-a-Millionaire

Quote: GE Reports. Images: Abbey Bugenske, Jerry Miiros.