In Rochester, GE Energy just announced that it’s investing more than $2 million in technology to increase manufacturing capabilities at the facility where it produces printed circuit boards. The boards are essentially the “brains” of GE radios that collect and transmit mission critical data for industrial applications, such as gas pipeline monitoring and advanced metering of energy use. The technology helps improve the efficiency and reliability of systems throughout the world and will also be used in GE smart grid technologies. That investment is expected to add 15 new jobs to the existing 200-plus jobs at the Rochester location.

GE Digital Energy unveiled its new Surface Mount Technology (SMT), which is currently operational and is expected to increase production over the next year.

As Luke Clemente, general manager of the plant (center, behind the blue bow), told the local paper: “Not only are we keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S., but we are also adding an additional 15 jobs here in the Rochester facility. GE could make these products anywhere, so it says a lot that GE has decided to invest in a new manufacturing line and technology right here in Rochester.”

Meanwhile, in Dayton, Ohio, GE Aviation broke ground yesterday on its new R&D facility that focuses on electric flight. As we recently noted in our story about the futuristic developments in aviation, electric flight is all about making aircraft more efficient — from shrinking the on-board components of the plane to migrating flight control systems away from hydraulic systems and into electro-mechanical ones. The research at the center will pave the way for hybrid and all-electric aircraft — and will also involve be used on electric cars and in smart grid technologies.

Known as EPISCENTER (for Electrical Power Integrated Systems Research and Development Center) the $51 million facility will be built on about eight acres on the University of Dayton’s campus. The center will potentially create 100 – 200 jobs depending on future contracts for the development of electrical power systems for next generation military and civil vehicles.

The video below provides an overview.

The center’s close proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the University of Dayton Research Institute is important in order to provide significant new support to the Air Force Research Labs and the University of Dayton.  In the photo, Ohio Lt. Governor Mary Taylor helps break ground along with the University of Dayton President Dan Curran (center in the background) and Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO of GE Aviation Systems on April 14.

And as we reported in our story on Thursday, GE announced that it’s opening a new Information Security Technology Center that will specialize in cyber security. The work in Glen Allen, Virginia, which is just north of Richmond, is part of a broad-based effort to ensure that GE systems and security teams stay ahead of a rapidly changing, constantly evolving technology landscape. The high-tech hub will grow to roughly 200 employees over the next few years.

As GE’s Alex Chaveriat said about the constant flow of new technologies and software systems entering the marketplace and workplace, “Looking at these devices that have never been seen before…., we’re coming up with new ways of protecting them. Every three months, every six months, it all changes. We have to look at everything in a new way.”

The new expansions announced this week are just a few of several examples of GE investing in new jobs. Since early 2009, GE has announced the creation of 6,300 new jobs in the U.S.

* Read the Rochester factory announcement
* Read the Dayton electric flight announcement
* Read the Virginia IT announcement

The work at the new Center will focus on security management strategies to prevent, detect, and fix risks to GE’s data, assets, and intellectual property. In addition to cyber security, the teams will work on a host of key risk management areas such as network design, software architecture, and data management.

“The reason we have to do this is because it’s not easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys,” says GE’s Larry Biagini in a video about GE’s security and risk efforts. Adds Frank Taylor, GE VP and Chief Security Officer, “We’ve got to raise the bar of people understanding what the threat is.”

The work at the Center will involve taking a holistic approach on how hardware, software, processes, and people all interrelate when it comes to protecting IT systems. As GE’s Alex Chaveriat explains about the constant flow of new technologies and software systems entering the marketplace and workplace, “Looking at these devices that have never been seen before…., we’re coming up with new ways of protecting them. Every three months, every six months, it all changes. We have to look at everything in a new way.”

The new center is just one of several examples of GE investing in new jobs. Since early 2009, GE has announced the creation of 6,300 new jobs in the U.S. “GE is placing big bets on critical sectors like IT and is adding new jobs to prove it,” said Charlene Begley, President and CEO of GE Home & Business Solutions and Senior Vice President and CIO for GE. “At our Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center in Michigan, we have hired roughly 600 professionals since October 2009 and are expected to grow to over 1,100 employees by 2013.”

Begley said that “Virginia has a wealth of technical talent and strong educational facilities which will be key in filling these IT security jobs.” Photo: Wikipedia Commons License.

* Learn more about the new center at ge.com/infosec
* Read today’s announcement

Fast lane: The CTX 9800, which is made in Newark, California, is capable of processing about 700 bags per hour — with plans to achieve speeds up to 1,000 bags per hour in the near future.

Up, down, all around: This video allows you to take a 360-degree “swim” through a suitcase and visualize the capabilities of this new system.

Just as some of the GE gas turbine technology being used in China’s massive West-to-East pipeline was originally developed by GE Aviation, the shared technology between GE Security and GE Healthcare provides another live example of how GE business units can share breakthroughs to meet the needs of customers across industrial sectors.

“The CTX 9800 represents a leap forward in explosive detection systems and introduces GE Security’s newly branded Clarity technology, which combines automated explosives detection with advanced imaging technology from GE Healthcare,” said Jill Bunney, Product Manager, GE Security Homeland Protection. “Air travelers can rest assured that baggage screening technologies continue to improve thanks to GE technologies like ones originally developed for life-saving medical settings. Airports benefit through an increased ability to identify threats, reduce false alarm rates, and handle more bags per hour, increasing productivity and getting more bags to their planes on time.”

* Learn more details in GE’s announcement
* Read today’s Dow Jones story
* See another 360-degree video on tech blog engadget

Breakthrough crew: GE scientists in India, New York, Germany and China are at the cutting edge of innovation in the areas of wind and solar power, gas turbines, locomotives, aircraft engines and oil and gas production.

Over the past seven years, GE’s annual research and development expenditures for projects in areas such as power generation, renewable energy, biosciences and healthcare have nearly doubled from $2.3 billion to $4.3 billion. As part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, the company is doubling its level of investment in clean technologies from $700 million in 2005 to more than $1.5 billion by 2010. And since 2001, GE has made capital investments totaling $330 million to expand its four global research centers — and grown employment at out Niskayuna, NY, facility 15 percent in the same period.

Patents pending: This new Bangalore, India facility will help GE maintain its technology leadership. GE’s researchers filed more than 2,500 patents in 2008 alone.

“The engineers and researchers here are part of a network of 30,000 technologists across GE who work to redefine what’s possible,” Mark Little, Senior Vice President and Director of GE Global Research said at the Bangalore opening. “Our mission today is the same as it was when Thomas Edison founded GE. We drive breakthrough technology that the world needs, and that will help our company grow. This latest expansion is just another sign of our commitment to technology and innovation.”

In other GE news in India, GE Security and Wipro Infotech yesterday announced the signing of a business partner agreement. As an IT service provider, Wipro currently provides information security solutions. The agreement with GE Security, which has expertise in areas such as explosives detection, video surveillance and access control, is designed to aid Wipro in offering physical security for clients such as the government, universities and the hospitality sector.

* Read the announcement

Read some press coverage:
* Business Standard: GE adds green ‘Odyssey’ to its India centre

The Dolphins were among the first NFL teams to institute a detailed fan conduct program that empowers fans to text-message security personnel to anonymously report disruptive and potentially dangerous events. With the addition of GE Security’s video cameras and monitoring software, stadium security personnel can promptly confirm that text-message reports are valid, monitor each situation and dispatch appropriate help.

As many gear up for an action-packed day or two of travel, we at GE Reports wanted to share some ways that GE technologies are helping to make your travels a little bit safer and easier this holiday season.

Hate the thought of your checked luggage undergoing hand inspection?
You’ll be happy to hear that GE Security’s CTX series explosives detection systems are in use at more than 200 airports around the world and offer some pretty amazing explosives detection capabilities. How does this help you? Aside from keeping baggage safe, the CTX series reduces the number of false alarm scans and in turn, decreases in the number of bags that airport security personnel need to inspect by hand. Added bonus – fewer bags may miss their flights this holiday travel season.

Wary of thunderstorms?
GE Digital Energy products help protect the airports from damage during power system failures by helping to ensure uninterrupted power. Runway lighting systems, radar, terminal operations will continue to run even if the power fails.

Wonder if your airplane is in the best shape?
Similar to healthcare technology, GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies offers X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and other technologies to collect key flight information and inspect the full aircraft and engines.

Now what type of holiday post would this be without some sort of gift-giving? That said, the folks over at GE Security have put together a great set of travel tips for packing luggage this holiday season.

* More about how GE technologies are helping to make your travels safer this holiday season.

Here’s the link to Popular Science’s listing.

* StreetLab Mobile’s web site

The prototype mobile imaging system will be able to work from a moving vehicle to identify radioactive sources from longer distances with greater specificity, pinpointing even the weakest of signals to almost to an exact location.

Even more amazing is that to make this project work, GE researchers will be adapting nuclear medicine imaging technology from the GE Healthcare business. That means that the same imaging technology doctors use today for the detection of cancers will be used in the future to sniff out nuclear threats.

* For more information on read our release.