Schweitzer Drive

The shift to renewables and growing demand for electricity are driving utilities to problem-solve like never before. In this episode, host Dave Whitehead talks with Philip VanSant, manager of T&D Services, System Protection at Dominion Energy, about how the utility has come up with an innovative method to construct and commission new digital substations in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Rini Paiva, executive vice president of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, joins Dave to discuss the common traits inventors share, the importance of honoring their work, and how they're inspiring future innovators.

In this episode, guest host Nicholas Seeley talks with cybersecurity expert and author Andrew Ginter about the challenges of protecting operational technology used in industrial environments and critical infrastructure, like the power grid, from growing cyber threats.

One of the most significant limiting factors of renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, is intermittency. When the wind isn’t blowing or sun shining, there’s no generation. This is why billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson are all looking for a way to store energy and are investing heavily in grid-scale battery research. In this episode, Dave Whitehead talks with Brian Starling, from Dominion Energy, about a different kind of battery—the Bath County Pumped Storage Station, which is often referred to as the biggest battery in the world.

The number of STEM related careers has increased by nearly 80 percent in the last thirty years, and it’s a trend that continues. However, based on current statistics, filling these roles in the future is going to be a challenge. In this episode, Dave talks with Laura Harris and Caden Perry, two recent high school graduates who are already on the path to careers focused on science, technology, engineering and math. They discuss what inspired their career choices, share what excites them about the future, and offer advice for getting more young people excited about STEM. 

Hydroelectric power is reliable and renewable, but it’s not without its challenges. That’s changing with innovative companies like Natel Energy. In this episode, Gia Schneider, Natel CEO, discusses the fish-safe turbine the company has developed and how they are reinventing the future of hydroelectric power. 

If you’ve ever tried out a new technology and thought “Wow, that was easy!”—chances are a user experience (UX) designer played a part in your delight. Join Dave Whitehead as he talks with UX expert Bryan Foutch about the origins of UX and the hard work that goes into making products that are easy to use.

In this episode, Dr. Jacob Leachman breaks down why hydrogen might be the coolest fuel in the universe. The Washington State University Associate Professor joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss the benefits and challenges of hydrogen as a fuel source, ways it’s already being used and the innovation happening at WSU’s cryogenic hydrogen research lab. 

One quarter of the energy homeowners use is electric, and that’s predicted to double by 2050. Larry Bekkedahl, senior vice president of Portland General Electric, joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss how the push toward electrifying everything, from appliances to vehicles, combined with the rapid adoption of intermittent energy sources is challenging how utilities provide customers with a reliable flow of power. 

Only 30% of women who earn bachelor's degrees in engineering are still working in the field 20 years later. Burns & McDonnell Engineering Director and Society of Women Engineers Board Member Kerrie Greenfelder joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss ways to help decrease that statistic and increase inclusivity in the field.

Of the 1.3 billion people on the planet without access to reliable electricity, 600 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dedicated to solving this problem are organizations like Power Africa, a U.S. government-led partnership that advances inclusive, low-carbon economic growth. Power Africa Coordinator Mark Carrato joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss how they’re collaborating with local communities, U.S. businesses, and others to bring sustainable power to 60 million homes and businesses in the region by 2030.

Of the 1.3 billion people on the planet without access to reliable electricity, 600 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dedicated to solving this problem are organizations like Power Africa, a U.S. government-led partnership that advances inclusive, low-carbon economic growth. Power Africa Coordinator Mark Carrato joins host Dave Whitehead to discuss how they’re collaborating with local communities, U.S. businesses, and others to bring sustainable power to 60 million homes and businesses in the region by 2030.

Inverter-based resources put a new spin on power generation, replacing the large rotating masses that have been the mainstay of power generation for the past 100+ years. Join host Dave Whitehead and Dr. Normann Fischer, SEL vice president of Research & Development, as they discuss the challenges of bringing resources that don’t abide the laws of physics into the power grid.

Between 2013-2021, the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs jumped 350 percent. Join Dave Whitehead as he talks with Dr. Jim Alves-Foss, director of the University of Idaho Center for Secure and Dependable Systems, about how UI is preparing students to fill those roles and solve the world’s toughest cybersecurity challenges.

Power system telecommunication networks have very different needs than those driving internet and broadband technology. Can you imagine a utility having to wait to learn about a fault while their network buffered? In this episode, Dave Whitehead talks with communications experts Ken Fodero and Paul Robertson about the history of power system communications and why reliable, high-speed, deterministic communication networks are critical to keeping the lights on.

Revered basketball coach John Wooden once said, “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.” In this episode, guest host David Costello talks with human performance expert and coach James Merlo about how human factors engineering can help utilities, organizations, and individuals to not only improve efficiency and reliability, but also greatly reduce the frequency and severity of errors.

Oscillations on the electric power system are normal, but sometimes they get out of sync and can wreak havoc, potentially causing a blackout. In this episode, Dave Whitehead sits down with power system expert and professor Dr. Mani Venkatasubramanian to talk about how we can monitor and manage oscillations to keep power flowing—even across borders. 

Industrial control systems (ICSs) across industries have experienced increased security risk in the last decade, and those within the electric power system are no exception. In this episode, Dave Whitehead talks with ICS cybersecurity expert Dale Peterson about today’s threat landscape and where ICS asset owners should focus their efforts to address this risk.

It’s an exciting time to work in the electric power industry. The rapid pace of innovation is creating both opportunities and challenges. In this episode, Dave Whitehead talks with Dr. Hector Altuve, a 40+ year industry veteran who has worked across continents in both academia and business, about the role the industry plays in filling the gap between traditional education that instills fundamentals—the things that don’t rust—and specialized training that keeps pace with the latest technologies.

The electric power grid is the largest man-made machine ever created. It’s vast, complex, and essential to modern life. And, as it continues to serve more people and industries and accommodate new challenges, it will require a steady pipeline of smart, well-educated people to invent, design, build, operate, and secure the power systems of the future. In this episode, I talk with educator John Cassleman, who manages SEL’s K-12 Education Outreach program, about how we can get more kids excited about science, technology, engineering, and math—and maybe even inspire the next Thomas Edisons, Nikola Teslas, and Ed Schweitzers.