Research has been a big deal at GE since the first decade of its existence. In 1900, Thomas Edison’s new company created the General Electric Research Laboratory, devoted to original research that would help the company innovate and maintain its competitive edge. It was an idea led by GE’s chief engineer at the time, Charles P. Steinmetz, who argued that innovation worked best when great minds were brought together under one roof. The lab began operations in a barn behind Steinmetz’s house in Schenectady, New York, before moving to its legendary headquarters there a year later.