Robert Zacharias

As the technical director for Thermosciences at GE Research, Bob oversees engineering solutions development in the areas of aerodynamics, component heat transfer, thermal systems, combustion, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Bob and his team develop state-of-the-art technical concepts that provide market competitive advantage in terms of product performance, operability, reliability, life, emissions, acoustics, cost, and profitability. These concepts are broadly delivered to GE’s businesses, U.S. government agencies, and GE Research’s strategic commercial partners.

Bob joined GE in 2000 as part of GE Power where he was responsible for CFD development and applications, high performance computing, and compressor aerodynamics. Later, he served as an executive in the Engineering Tools Center of Excellence where he led engineering design systems across GE’s businesses.

Prior to joining GE, Bob worked at Pratt & Whitney where his responsibilities spanned CFD development, high performance computing, compressor aerodynamics, and engineering design systems.

Bob has authored more than 20 technical papers and was a recipient of the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) Best Paper Award. In 2005 Bob was presented with a GE Edison Award for his technical excellence, customer impact, and organizational citizenship.

Bob holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Rochester.