GE Digital’s Colin Parris Elected as a Member of the National Academy of Engineers (NAE)

Feb. 11, 2022
One of three new GE members join an exclusive National Academy of Engineers (NAE) membership of 2,388 U.S. members and 310 international members.

GE Digital today announced that Chief Technology Officer and an Officer of GE Dr. Colin Parris has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineers (NAE). Parris, Dr. Manoj Shah, an engineer with GE and GE Research, and John D. McDonald, smart grid business development leader, GE Grid Solutions are among the 133 U.S. and international members elected as part of the 2022 class. 

Election as a member of the NAE is one of the most prestigious professional honors an engineer can receive. Members must be nominated by a peer, with nominations going through a year-long process before final selections are made. To be selected as a member, an engineer must demonstrate that they have helped to pioneer new developments in their field and made outstanding contributions in engineering.

As GE Digital’s chief technology officer, Parris leads teams that leverage digital technologies in the energy industry and other industrial environments. He is currently working across GE to accelerate business impact and transformation by combining lean principles with digital solutions. His expertise spans engineering, software, and AI-driven analytics. Working closely with some of GE’s biggest customers, he is leading a team that champions breakthrough technologies and capabilities to accelerate innovative solutions to solve emerging customer problems. Parris, an alumnus of GE Research, created and leads the Digital Twin Initiative across GE and is a board member of the Digital Twin Consortium.

Parris has been widely published, including his most recent participation in the latest World Economic Forum white paper, Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Energy Transition. Because of his deep domain knowledge and expertise on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twin technology, Parris has been regularly featured and interviewed by top international media outlets such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, POWER, Business Insider, Axios, CIO, Chemical Engineering, among others. For more than 20 years, Parris has been committed to the development and enhancement of STEM programs across minority communities and serves as a board member of Ambyese.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Colin, Manoj, and John. On behalf of the entire GE Digital team, I want to congratulate all three of them and the talented technical teams they represent,” said Pat Byrne, GE Digital CEO. “We are truly honored to have them leading teams on behalf of GE.”