An official website of the United States government Here's how you know

NEW! Inside West Point Podcast: West Point dean and mechanical engineering professor discuss energy technology and national defense

By Maj. Renee Sanjuan USMA Associate Dean for CommunicationsNovember 21, 2023

Dr. Todd Davidson, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME), and Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves discuss energy technology and national defense in the most recent episode of the Inside...
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Todd Davidson, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME), and Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves discuss energy technology and national defense in the most recent episode of the Inside West Point: Ideas that Impact podcast. (Photo by Christopher Hennen/USMA PAO) (Photo Credit: Christopher Hennen) VIEW ORIGINAL
Dr. Todd Davidson, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME), and Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves discuss energy technology and national defense in the most recent episode of the Inside...
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Todd Davidson, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME), and Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves discuss energy technology and national defense in the most recent episode of the Inside West Point: Ideas that Impact podcast. (Photo by Christopher Hennen/USMA PAO) (Photo Credit: Christopher Hennen) VIEW ORIGINAL

During this episode, “Powering the Future: Electrification of the U.S. Army Tactical Fleet,” Dr. Todd Davidson, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME), and Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves discuss the complexities of electrifying the U.S. Army's tactical fleet.

Within their discussion, Reeves and Davidson discuss the U.S. Military Academy’s interdisciplinary consortium on sustainable infrastructure, resiliency and climate. Davidson, an expert in sustainable infrastructure and energy systems in CME, explains why this research is important to him and his research collaborators.

“One of the grand challenges of our time is delivering clean, abundant, affordable energy to a growing global population while simultaneously trying to mitigate the effects of energy security issues,” Davidson said.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

  1. How can energy technology give the Army a tactical advantage? 
  2. How can organizations modernize energy resources?
  3. How can installations be more resilient to energy infrastructure threats?
  4. What is West Point doing to contribute to this challenge?

Join Reeves each month as he takes you behind the scenes to explore the applied research and cross-disciplinary work being done by the academy’s scholars. From high-energy lasers and autonomous robots to civil-military relations and ethics, “Inside West Point” goes beyond the textbook to give you a deeper understanding of the complex issues shaping the modern battlefield. Hear directly from the experts as they make even the most complex topics accessible to a broad audience.

You can find the “Inside West Point: Ideas that Impact” podcast, as well as several other podcasts produced by West Point at https://westpointpress.com/podcasts or on your favorite podcast platform, including Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify and Podchaser. You can also follow on Instagram (@dean.usma), Facebook (Dean of the Academic Board-West Point), Threads (@dean.usma) and X (@DeanUSMA) for updates.

Learn more about the West Point Academic Program at https://www.westpoint.edu/academics.