Bruce Morrison is a pioneering alumnus who went on to patent unique turbine tech and lead at GE

A graduate of St. Petersburg High School, Bruce Morrison began his post-secondary education at Florida State University in the School of Engineering Science. He graduated from FSU in 1970 with his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. Dr. E. G. Henneke directed his Thesis, “The Effect of Dislocation Generation Due to An Externally Applied Stress Upon the Propagation of Ultrasonic Elastic Waves in Zinc Single Crystals.”

After serving in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Albany “CG10” as a Division Officer, Bruce moved to New York to work for GE in Power Generation. He worked in the design of Large Steam Turbines for ten years. In 1985, he headed a team conducting field tests and failure analysis on Taiwan Power Company’s 950 MW Nuclear Unit at Maanshan Power Station, which had experienced a last stage wheel failure. 

Bruce Morrison
Dr. Emmanuel Collins and Bruce Morrison (L-R)

With the rebuild of Maanshan complete, Bruce began his concentration on the repair of in-service units. Mr. Morrison became Manager of International Service Engineering in 1989, managing an office responsible for repair and upgrade of GE’s international units. In support of GE’s expanding international initiatives, Mr. Morrison worked in PRC Ventures, exploring opportunities to establish Joint Ventures for the production of Gas and Steam Turbine components in China. From 1996 through 1999 he served in ST Product Line Leadership. 

Before retiring in 2010 Bruce managed the Jacksonville Power Generation Service Center, growing this shop to over $50 million in annual sales. Additionally, Bruce holds three patents in turbine technology.

Morrison is one of the pioneering students who graduated from the earliest iteration of what would become the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, which was established as a joint college serving Florida A&M and Florida State universities in 1982. 

He was recognized in April 2018 as a Distinguished Alumni of the College’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.