<Tr> <Th> Added to NRHP </Th> <Td> May 15, 1975 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Designated NHL </Th> <Td> May 15, 1975 </Td> </Tr> <P> General Electric Research Laboratory was the first industrial research facility in the United States . Established in 1900, the 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 . Its campus in Schenectady, New York was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

Who began the first modern industrial research laboratory