Brian H. Rowe, a towering figure in GE Aviation history and a world-renowned jet engine pioneer, died on Thursday, February 22, at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, following surgery. He was 75 years old.
Mr. Rowe led GE Aviation from 1979 to 1993, serving as the division's president and CEO, as well as corporate senior vice-president. During his 38 years with the company, he played a central role in the global leadership position that GE Aviation enjoys today.
In December 2006, GE Aviation renamed its Learning Centre to the Brian H. Rowe Learning Centre. "Everyone at GE Aviation today is a beneficiary of Brian's unique vision and courage," said Scott Donnelly, president and CEO of GE Aviation.
Mr. Rowe's autobiography, The Power To Fly: An Engineer's Life (written with Marty Ducheny), was published in 2005.
While running GE Aviation, Mr. Rowe launched several new jet engines, including the CF34 for business and regional jets, the CF6-80C2, a leading engine for widebody aircraft, the F110 fighter engine for the F-16, and the GE90, the world's largest and most powerful jet engine.
With the GE90 engine in the early 1990s, Mr. Rowe drove several unique technology advancements, including the first composite fan blades in commercial aviation. The GEnx, GE's popular new jet engine under development, is based on the GE90 architecture.
He also played a key role in the development of CFM International, the 33-year-old joint company of GE and Snecma of France. The CFM56 engine is the most-produced jet engine in commercial aviation. For his work with CFM, he was awarded in 1985 the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, France's highest civilian honor.
Mr. Rowe retired as chairman of GE Aviation in early 1995, a position he held since 1993. But he always remained active in the company as chairman emeritus, and he kept an office at the Evendale, Ohio, plant.
JET ENGINE PIONEER
Born in 1931, in London, England, Mr. Rowe received a typical technical secondary school education. His work on some of the world's earliest jet engines began in 1947 with the deHavilland Engine Company in England.
While there, he worked on the design and manufacture of piston, jet and rocket engines and also on the first commercial jet engines that were fitted to the historic deHavilland Comet aircraft. Mr. Rowe received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with honors from Kings College - Durham University in 1955.
Mr. Rowe joined GE in 1957 in Lynn, Massachusetts, and spent most of his early years in design, development, and engineering of various GE engines. He was engineering manager for all of the Lynn engine programs for five years before moving to Cincinnati in 1968 as general manager of the CF6 project department.
He was elected vice president and general manager of Commercial Engine Projects Division in 1972, vice president and general manager of Airline Programs Division in 1974, and subsequently vice president and general manager of Aircraft Engineering Division in 1976. In 1979, he assumed leadership of GE Aviation.
Mr. Rowe was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor in Science and Technology from the University of Cincinnati and from the University of Dayton. In 1995, Rowe was inducted into the GE Aviation Propulsion Hall of Fame, and in 1996 the Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame.
CIVIC LEADER
Mr. Rowe was a 25-year Cincinnati resident and civic leader. He served as a board trustee for the Cincinnati Museum Center, Institute of Fine Arts, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the University of Cincinnati Foundation, including co-chair of the University of Cincinnati Campaign Committee. He was former chairman of the World Affairs Council of Greater Cincinnati, served on the Ohio State President's Advisory Council, and served as president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also served on several Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advisory boards.
He was a member of several corporate boards, including 5th/3rd Bank and Convergys Corporation, both in Cincinnati; Stewart & Stevenson Services, Inc., Houston, TX; Atlas Air, Inc., Golden, CO; and Acterna Corporation, Burlington, MA.
Mr. Rowe's principal residence in recent years was Key Largo, Florida. His wife, the former Jill Trapp, survives him. They have three grown children: daughters Linda Hernandez (Miami, Florida) and Penny Dinsmore (Cincinnati, Ohio), and a son, David Rowe (Savannah, GA); and six grandchildren, including Nicholas Dinsmore, an engineer at GE Aviation in Evendale.
Services are pending.