Ted was hired on 28 June 1989 as a Design Engineer in the Bearings and Lubrication Systems R&D Group. His first assignment was as a Program Manager for a $1 M/year IR&D project (High DN (2.3 - 2.5 MDN) Core Engine Thrust Bearing). The goal of this project was to develop a large 2.5 MDN ball bearing for an advanced commercial gas turbine engine. The bearing incorporated both jet and under-race lubrication, advanced materials and optimized geometry.

Because of Ted's experience in the design and development of large bearings for military gas turbine engines at PWA, he was assigned as the chief designer for all mainshaft bearings on GE's new GE90 commercial gas turbine engine. Duties included bearing design (A.B. Jones & SHABERTH), thermal and structural analyses, vendor integration, program planning, technical writing & frequent technical presentations to the Project Engineering group. The GE90 was to be the largest flying gas turbine engine ever developed and all mainshaft bearings had to be optimized to provide long system life to satisfy ETOPS (extended twin engine operation) requirements. The high pressure turbine (HPT) bearings had a maximum operating speed of 2.5 MDN and the rings had to be made out of M50 Nil bearing steel to improve fracture toughness and slow the progression of spalling under high speeds and load conditions. The HPT roller bearing had an advanced squirrel cage oil damper system to cool the bearing and minimize dynamic loading during "bowed rotor" start-ups. Challenges on the low pressure turbine (LPT) shaft included an intershaft bearing and an extremely large front (ball) bearing with an outer diameter of more than 24 inches and the requirement to make the bearing extra durable to prevent catastrophic failure of the engine in the event that the extremely large fan looses a blade. Ted was the co-recipient of U.S. Patent # 5,183,342 for his work in the development of a lubrication delivery system for the HPT bearings. All of the GE90 mainshaft bearings have operated flawlessly. Upon the successful completion of the GE90 mainshaft bearing development effort, Ted opted for a voluntary layoff (low seniority) on 28 June 1991 to take a position as Supervisor of the Mechanical Research Group at the NTN Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.