All his classmates of 21071, SJTU (1978~1982), will miss him. Wish him rest in peace. 

Zuo Beifang, graduation photo with his classmates of SJTU in 1981 (third row, fifth from the right).  We all miss him.

Baifang and me joined GE similar time, he was one the regular lunch time walkers around GE campus trail and I enjoyed to know him. Baifang is not talkative, but when he talks, always very insightful and straightforward. In last 3 years as colleague in the same team, Baifang never complains and do whatever good for company, he always put his heads down to get things done. Baifang, you will be greatly missed, Rest In Peace! 

    2022 is the 40th anniversary of graduation of Class 21071 from Shanghai Jiao-Tong University. It would be a joyous moment for the planned re-union to celebrate and reminisce, but instead, we learned the passing of our dear classmate Baifang Zuo. Sorrow fills our hearts in this sad moment.
    We first met in February of 1978 at Shanghai Jiao-Tong University. The 37 of us from different parts of China formed Class 21071 to major in Gas Turbine in the Power Machinery Engineering Department. For the next 4 years, Class 21071 was our family where we lived in the same dormitory building, studied together and helped each other. Our bond lasted till this day.
    As we remember Baifang, the words that come up are honest, polite, helpful, hard-working, brilliant, and determined. Many nights, he would be digging into a hard Fluid Dynamics problem in lecture room till mid-night. 7 am next day, we would see him reading aloud in campus lawn to perfect his English pronunciation. As time approached for term exam preparation, he would share notes and help those who sought his knowledge. He was always among the top of his class.
    So it is not a surprise when we read shared memories from his colleagues at GE, whether the seemingly effortless transition from a great tool developer to a brilliant combustor designer, or his passion, calm and tenacity to solve a tough problem. As his classmates, we feel pride in what he accomplished in his professional life in a world class engineering company.
    As we mourn the loss of a dear friend, we send our deepest condolences to his family. It has been our privilege to know Baifang, and 4 years together at Jiao-Tong will forever be our cherished memory. We’ll carry on with our shared dream and vow we took at graduation 40 years ago: to always seek truth, and to use what we learned to build a better world and life for the mankind.
    Rest in peace, Baifang. We will miss you.

Class 21071 (Class of 1982) of Shanghai Jiao-Tong University

We have played basketball with Lao Zuo for many years, everyone was shocked when I posted the news in the group, he was a very strong person. How can a little virus knock you down? You will be missed on the court! Rest In Peace!

Baifang is a good friend, colleague and an alumni.    I still remember the day Baifang joined GE and his passion and enthusiasm for his profession.  We have many common friends and alumnus that we can talk about.  
One thing that I still remember and felt regret.  When he joined GE, he was trying to get his son's immigration status changed and asked me to be friend witness.  Of course, I agreed.  One day I was working with some extremely challenging project.  In the middle, an unfamiliar call went through and asked me if I known a person with such name.  The name she pronounced was not immediately clicked so I gave the negative answer.  This caused so much trouble to Baifang and his family that I told myself I got to find ways to make it up for him.  But sadly, I have to make it up when I see you again.  RIP.

Baifang and I worked closely on many projects over the years... His ability to move from high end modeling to pen and paper calculations was one of the best.  A practical engineer with a great "we can solve it" attitude. Often quiet during project discussions; but always passionate about doing what made the most sense.  Above all, through it all, he trusted me and I trusted him (and we got some really cool stuff done together). 

I have know Baifang for his entire GE career. Words such as integrity, positivity, flexible and humble come to mind to describe him. We worked on many new technologies and I still have one of his modeling results when we were learning that smaller scale mixing and burners were yielding lower emissions.

Baifang will be missed and I pray for his family and friends that God gives them comfort, his loving hugs, and provides them peace.

Baifang and I joined GE at approximately the same time some seventeen years ago.  We were in the same team. What I remember from him at the time is that he was a software developer prior to joining GE.  Very quickly, within a few weeks, he completely switched from development to application engineering which is not an easy thing to do.  He was so proud of his accomplishments, and enjoyed discussing them with colleagues.  He was always very nice, and calm.  Never raised his voice at people, never had any "unkind" words for anyone.    
I left GE two years after that, and then returned a couple of years later,  to find Baifang yet in a different role, as an aero  engineer designing hardware for "combustion" team.  I remember thinking to myself  "how Baifang had such a breadth of knowledge in different fields".  We were again team mates , me in the exact same role as before, and "him" in a completely different role. 
Then came the "awful pandemic" which changed all of all lives.  I would still run into Baifang in the hallways. He showed up to work every day, never missing a beat.  I was also surprised to find out that he had yet changed his role, and that now he was an aero design engineer for a completely different  part of the engine, re-iterating his breadth of engineering knowledge.
I heard about a month ago, that he has been hospitalized, and then released. So I thought that he was OK.  But then I heard  yesterday of him passing away due to "covid".   It was very sad for me to have heard that.
I will miss his "kind face" exchanging "kind words" with me.  His "legacy" for me will be his "kindness", and his "breadth of knowledge".

My first time meeting Baifang was on a GE sand volleyball court. I had organized some pickup games during the summer, and Baifang showed up to play. No matter how hot it was, he always rolled up his work pants to his knees and played in his undershirt. He loved playing, and I could always count on him to bring passion and energy to each game. Later on I joined the Combustion Team and got to work alongside Baifang - he brought that same passion and energy to his work. He will be missed. My prayers are with his family and colleagues during this trying time.

I joined GE at at the same time Baifang joined under the same manager and TL.   What impressed me  over the years was how humble a person he was and also he kept smiling even during the toughest time.   He always picked up any work that was asked of him without any contention or negotiation and he has left his mark in several different programs and hardware design for us.   Rest in Peace !

Few years ago, together with Baifang, we took a trip to Cincinnati to oversee the liquid testing at UCRI. In that trip, I found Baifang very easy going and a down-to-earth person. He reminds me of the quote “The tree laden with fruits always bends low. If you wish to be great, be humble.” Baifang was a very capable aero engineer with many skills; he would run lab tests, and was very good with aero tools, and lately he contributed to CFD design support the 6F03 FD program. It is truly sad to know that he is not with GE family anymore. He will be greatly missed. 

OBITUARY

Baifang Zuo

April 10, 1959 – January 5, 2022

Mackey Funerals and Cremations at Century Drive

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