General Electric Research Laboratory
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General Electric Research Laboratory
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| Location | Schenectady, NY |
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| Coordinates | 42°48′38.78″N 73°57′5.67″W / 42.8107722°N 73.9515750°WCoordinates: 42°48′38.78″N 73°57′5.67″W / 42.8107722°N 73.9515750°W |
| NRHP Reference # | 75001227 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 15, 1975 |
| Designated NHL | May 15, 1975 |
General Electric Research Laboratory, the first industrial research facility in the United States, was established in 1900. It is located in Schenectady, New York. Schenectady is nicknamed "The City that Lights and Hauls the World." This lab was home to the early technological breakthroughs of General Electric and created a research and development environment that set the standard for industrial innovation for years to come. It developed into GE Global Research that now covers an array of technological research, ranging from healthcare to transportation systems, at multiple locations throughout the world. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
Founded in 1900 by Thomas Edison, Willis R. Whitney, and Charles Steinmetz, this lab defined industrial research for years to come. Elihu Thomson, one of the founding members of the laboratory, summed up the goal of the lab saying, “It does seem to me therefore that a Company as large as the General Electric Company, should not fail to continue investing and developing in new fields: there should, in fact, be a research laboratory for commercial applications of new principles, and even for the discovery of those principles." Furthermore, Edwin W. Rice, founding vice president, said they wanted to “establish a laboratory to be devoted exclusively to original research. It is hoped by this means that many profitable fields may be discovered.” Whitney and the founders of the research lab took many of their lab ideals from a German university model. German universities allowed professors to research and experiment with their own interests to seek further knowledge without having commercial or economic interests in mind. Other German scientists also researched exclusively with business in mind. But, these two views contributed to a successful relationship between science and industry. It was this success that influenced Whitney in his vision for the GE Research Lab.
The laboratory began at a time when the American electrification process was in its infant stage. General Electric became the leader of this move toward electrifying the United States and developing new technologies for many other science and technology fields. Willis Whitney and his assistant, Thomas Dempster, were the key researchers in developing the electrical technology that allowed the laboratory to continue to grow. The lab grew from 8 people to 102 people by 1906, which included scientifically trained researchers that made up 40% of the staff. Whitney believed in exploratory scientific research, with the goal of creating new commercial products. These two goals appealed to General Electric. For researchers, the lab provided time and money for experimentation, research, and personal interests without putting a high demand on developing theories or teaching. Nearly 30 years after its founding, the laboratory had expanded the staff to more than 400 chemists, physicists, and electrical engineers, plus their assistants.
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