Schweitzer Drive
The Schweitzer Drive podcast explores what goes on between the generation of electricity and the light switch. In each episode, host Dave Whitehead, CEO of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, talks with the entrepreneurs, innovators, and experts who are inventing the future of electric power. Electricity is so fundamental to our daily lives, and yet it’s something so many take for granted. Come learn about, explore, and celebrate electric power on Schweitzer Drive!
Latest episode
Episode 48
Powering Africa: Unleashing Potential Through Electrification
with guest Mark Carrato
Episodes
| Ep. 47 | The Challenges of Inverter-Based Resources: Integrating the New with the Old Dr. Normann Fischer | Listen Now |
| Ep. 46 | A Firewall for the Future: Educating the Next Generation of Cyber Professionals Jim Alves-Foss | Listen Now |
| Ep. 45 | Can You Hear Me Now? Why “Best Effort” Isn’t Good Enough for Mission-Critical Telecommunications Ken Fodero and Paul Robertson | Listen Now |
| Ep. 44 | Human Factors Engineering: Improving Power System Safety and Reliability James Merlo | Listen Now |
| Ep. 43 | Power System Oscillations: Maintaining Balance and Keeping the Lights On Mani Venkatasubramanian | Listen Now |
| Ep. 42 | Securing Industrial Control Systems Amid Increased Risk Dale Peterson | Listen Now |
| Ep. 41 | Powering the Future: Delivering Specialized Training at the Speed of Innovation Hector Altuve | Listen Now |
| Ep. 40 | Powering the Future: Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators John Cassleman | Listen Now |
| Ep. 39 | Powering the Future: Recruiting for STEM Careers in a Demanding Job Market Stacey Doty | Listen Now |
| Ep. 38 | Solving Recloser High-Density Coordination Challenges: Innovation That Keeps the Power On John Thorne | Listen Now |
| Ep. 37 | Zero Trust: A Look at Information Security and the Role Trust Plays Nicholas Seeley | Listen Now |
| Ep. 36 | Getting to Root Cause: The Importance of Being Able to Turn a Problem On and Off Gurvinder Singh | Listen Now |
| Ep. 35 | Better, Faster, Simpler, Safer: A New Approach to OT Network Communications Rhett Smith | Listen Now |
| Ep. 34 | Built to Last: What Does “Utility Grade” Really Mean? Adrian Genz | Listen Now |
| Ep. 33 | The Clean Energy Transition: Balancing Reliability, Innovation, Cost, and the Environment Heather Rosentrater | Listen Now |
| Ep. 32 | Safe, Reliable, Clean and Cost-Effective: A Timely Look at Nuclear Power Bob Schuetz | Listen Now |
| Ep. 31 | An Interview with the Host Stephanie Schweitzer | Listen Now |
| Ep. 30 | Decarbonization, Government Mandates, and the Future of Electric Power Thomas J. Pyle and Edmund O. Schweitzer III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 29 | People: The First and Last Line of Defense Frank Harrill | Listen Now |
| Ep. 28 | Culture: An Essential Ingredient for Creating an Exceptional Company David Costello and Tony Lee | Listen Now |
| Ep. 27 | Protecting the Grid: What Are Electromagnetic Pulses, and How Do They Affect the Power System? Travis Mooney | Listen Now |
| Ep. 26 | The Drive Toward Electric Vehicles: Powering Mobile Loads, Part 2 Steve Pekarek, Ph.D. | Listen Now |
| Ep. 25 | The Drive Toward Electric Vehicles: Powering Mobile Loads, Part 1 Dr. Brian Johnson | Listen Now |
| Ep. 24 | Protecting the Grid: Creating Cyber Solutions That Are Inherently Secure Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 23 | Predictive Power System Control in an Unpredictable Environment Steve Pekarek | Listen Now |
| Ep. 22 | People, Power Density, Cost and Scale: The Challenges of Renewable Energy Robert Bryce | Listen Now |
| Ep. 21 | Protecting Critical Cyber Systems: Building a Threat-Aware Network Samantha Madrid | Listen Now |
| Ep. 20 | Unleashing the Power of Women in STEM Noel Schulz | Listen Now |
| Ep. 19 | Electricity—Empowering People David Dolezilek | Listen Now |
| Ep. 18 | It Can't Be That Simple: How Creativity and Simplicity Combine to Create Innovative Solutions Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 17 | Vertical Integration: Supplying Customers with Products and Services Faster, Better, and Cheaper Jessi Hall | Listen Now |
| Ep. 16 | IT-OT Convergence: When One + One = Three Phil O'Reilly | Listen Now |
| Ep. 15 | Texas Blackout: Why the Lights Went Out and How to Keep Them On Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 14 | Safeguarding Civilization: A Few Thoughts on Cybersecurity Robert M. Lee | Listen Now |
| Ep. 13 | "How May I Help You?"–The Customer Service Playbook Todd Bridges | Listen Now |
| Ep. 12 | Product Developers: Better to Have Skills a Mile Deep or a Mile Wide? Tony Lee | Listen Now |
| Ep. 11 | Employee Ownership: Owning a Career Vs. Renting a Job Joey Nestegard | Listen Now |
| Ep. 10 | Application Engineers: When You Really Need to Phone a Friend Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 9 | Creating Value for Customers Laura Stento | Listen Now |
| Ep. 8 | Free Enterprise: America’s Innovation Engine Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 7 | FLISR, VVO, and DERMS, Oh My! Putting Distribution Automation to Work Bryan Fazzari | Listen Now |
| Ep. 6 | Turning the Lights Back on After a Blackout William J. Cook | Listen Now |
| Ep. 5 | Supply Chain Management: Getting Parts to Make Parts Diane Maceri | Listen Now |
| Ep. 4 | The Need for Speed and the Future of Power System Protection Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 3 | The Eyes and Ears of the Power System Greg Zweigle | Listen Now |
| Ep. 2 | Starting a Company, Building SEL—Part 2 Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 1 | Starting a Company, Building SEL—Part 1 Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III | Listen Now |
| Ep. 0 | Welcome to Schweitzer Drive | Listen Now |
Meet the Host
David Whitehead
CEO, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
A recognized leader in utility and industrial control system cybersecurity, Whitehead has testified before the U.S. Senate and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the importance of innovation and protecting against cyberattacks. He has presented at numerous cybersecurity conferences and authored dozens of papers on the topic.
For more than a decade, Whitehead led the SEL Research and Development Division, an 800-person multidisciplinary team responsible for the research, design, development, and testing of systems that manage, monitor, and control critical electric infrastructure.
Since joining SEL in 1994, he has been a driver of product and talent development and been instrumental in the development of the steady stream of inventions to come out of SEL. He has been awarded more than 73 patents around the world.
Whitehead received his BSEE from Washington State University and his MSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a senior member of IEEE and a registered Professional Engineer in Washington, New York, Michigan, and North Carolina.
