LARRY CULP JR. NAMED NEW CEO
GE announced yesterday it has appointed H. Lawrence Culp Jr. as its new chairman and chief executive. Culp, 55, served as CEO of Danaher Corporation. He joined the GE board of directors in April together with Thomas W. Horton, former chairman and chief executive of American Airlines. In this transition, Horton, 57, has become the board’s lead director.
“We will be working very hard in the coming weeks to drive superior execution, and we will move with urgency,” Culp said. “We remain committed to strengthening the balance sheet including deleveraging. We have a lot of work ahead of us to unlock the value of GE. I am excited to get to work.”
Read more about GE’s new chairman and CEO here.
U.S. AIR FORCE CHOOSES GE ENGINE
Last week the U.S. Air Force announced an agreement with Boeing to purchase more than 350 T-X trainer jets, all of them powered by GE’s F404 engine. GE engineers originally developed the engine for Boeing’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.
The F404 is relatively light, which makes it suitable for agile fighters. It’s also designed to be easily maintained. Its six modules — fan, compressor, combustor, high-pressure turbine, low-pressure turbine and afterburner — were made to fit together like Legos. This design is convenient especially on an aircraft carrier, allowing engineers to quickly swap out a module for a spare. “You could pull the engine apart, mix and match, and get flying right away,” said Tom Lodge, head of marketing for GE Aviation’s military engines business. The deal is something of a generational change for GE. The F404s will replace another GE engine, the J85, which was used on the previous generation of T-X trainers.
Read more about the Air Force engine deal here.
LISTENING TO GE VOICES
GE just relaunched GE Voices, an online hub where employees, suppliers and others connected to GE can learn more and speak up about some of the key policy issues affecting the company. The site's more than 75,000 subscribers can access explainers to see how hot policy issues like tax reform and tariffs affect them personally.
Front and center on the site is an interactive map showing the company’s broad presence in the United States. GE Voices is designed to facilitate two-way conversations, so individuals have an opportunity to let the company know what they think. The site comes with opportunities for action, too. GE Voices members can click on a link to connect them directly with their federal legislators’ offices. As more individuals become engaged, GE supporters’ voices are amplified.
COOLEST THINGS ON EARTH ?
1. Bacteria detects E. coli
Researchers at Cornell University have genetically engineered a virus to target the bacteria E. coli in drinking water. When the engineered virus finds E. coli, it infects it and causes it to glow.
2. Lettuce-peeling robot
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have created a lettuce-peeling robot. This is a big achievement because it’s difficult to build robots that can handle highly variable and delicate tasks like peeling lettuce.
3. Solar flow battery
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have produced a “solar flow battery,” which combines the abilities of both a solar cell and a battery into one device. To achieve this, the scientists combined a redox flow battery and a high-performance solar cell.
Plus, machine learning for air traffic control and genes that could act as “biological delivery trucks” in this week’s Coolest Things on Earth.
— QUOTE OF THE DAY —
“It’s been a privilege to be asked to lead this iconic company. GE remains a fundamentally strong company with great businesses and tremendous talent.”
— H. Lawrence Culp Jr., GE chairman and CEO