The Army contracts the National Academies every two to three years to review their research. Thorpe has been on the panel reviewing their robotics research several times in the past.

“Last week I ran the review of Military Information Science, basically all of the AI and robotics work that the Army sponsors,” Thorpe said “As chair of the panel, I have a two-year renewable appointment to the ARLTAB. Besides overseeing the MIS work, I will meet with the other TAB members to discuss the areas they oversee, and we will write a joint report.”

As a researcher, Thorpe has a long set of connections with the Army Research Labs as a collaborating researcher in the 90's and early 00's, as a visitor from the White House in 2012, and now as a member of the review board.

Thorpe said he cherishes the opportunity to represent Clarkson on a board with such important exposure.

“My fellow panelists were from Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, Virginia Tech, Indiana, RPI, etc. The chair of the entire TAB is the past provost of RPI,” he said. “Having Clarkson represented in that group is important for our national reputation.”