Juan de Bedout Outstanding Mechanical Engineer at Purdue
On November 11th, 2011, Juan de Bedout, Technology Director for the Electrical Technologies and Systems organization at GE Global Research, was awarded the Purdue Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Award. Juan received a B.S.M.E. in 1994, a M.S.M.E. in 1996 and Ph.D. in 2000, all from Purdue.
The history of the award dates to 1991, when the school and its faculty began to recognize alumni who have demonstrated exemplary accomplishments and leadership in industry, academia, and governmental service. Award recipients are also acknowledged for the time and talent they contribute to their communities and the nation. Over the years 217 alumni have been honored with the prestigious Outstanding Mechanical Engineer award. Juan de Bedout was one of seven recipients for 2011 (Juan is pictured back row, left).
“We are very happy to see this recognition of our senior leaders. GE has a longstanding relationship with Purdue University. Historically, GE has hired more students and has more alumni from Purdue University than any other University in the country,” said Tony Denhart, senior services manager for GE Energy Industrial Solutions and Purdue Campus Relations Leader.
Juan de Bedout leads the Electrical Technologies and Systems organization, a team of 550 scientists and engineers with 34 laboratories around the world. This group is devoted to developing a broad range of electrical technologies spanning advanced semiconductor devices, power electronics, generators, motors, controls and communications technologies for all of GE’s businesses.
Juan grew up in Medellín, Colombia, and comes from a family deeply rooted in Boilermaker tradition. His grandfather Larry Cargnino served as a professor emeritus of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics who taught many of Purdue’s astronauts, including Neil Armstrong. Juan’s father and mother both studied at Purdue, and his father remains strongly engaged serving on the engineering Dean’s advisory council.
Most recently, Juan was recognized in Diversity MBA magazine’s “Top 100 Under 50″ awards, September 2011, and was invited as session organizer for the 2011 EU-US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, hosted by the National Academy of Engineering.
Juan adds, “The three mechanical engineering degrees I earned at Purdue established a foundation of analytical thinking that has served me well in my GE career. The curriculum and research helped me to develop the ability to grasp the essence of vaguely defined problems and to formulate plans for resolving them in a systematic and logical fashion. As my responsibilities have grown, not a day goes by that I don’t leverage these traits for both research and business challenges.”
To learn more about the Purdue Outstanding Mechanical Engineering awards please visit here.
To read Juan de Bedout’s blog entries on Edison’s Desk, please visit here.
You can follow Juan de Bedout on Twitter at @JuanMDeBedout.
