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  • October

    The state of Louisiana constructed two sand berms between 2010 and 2011 to protect the Chandeleur Islands as part of an emergency response plan to mitigate the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Most of the sediment placed in the berms mimicked nearshore beneficial use of dredged material applications that are used for barrier island nourishment and restoration. A study found that sediment was transported onto existing island features or across the island into Chandeleur Sound. The build up and reinforcement of the island ensures its viability as wildlife habitat, making this an excellent example of working with natural processes to produce beneficial results. The effort to create the berms and evaluate them was a collaboration between multiple state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (U.S. Geological Survey photo by Karen Morgan)

    USACE Engineering With Nature Initiative launches new network, partnership

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced a new partnership with the University of Georgia (UGA) to establish the Network for Engineering With Nature (N-EWN). N-EWN was developed to accelerate delivery of nature-based solutions and natural infrastructure in the public and private sectors.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) ERDC University 2020 graduates, from left, Natural Resource Specialist Jason Knight, Tulsa District, assigned to the ERDC Environmental Laboratory (EL); Cost Civil Engineer Ian Pumo, Seattle District, assigned to EL and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory; Biologist Aaron McFarlane, St. Paul District, assigned to EL; Geologist David Robison, Louisville District, assigned to Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory; and Human Capital Office Director Dr. Gary Anderton. Corps division and district participants

    ERDC University’s virtual graduation honors district participants

    Four presentations highlighted the Sept. 23 virtual ceremony for the Class of 2020 graduates of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) ERDC University, with topics ranging from a comparison of healthy forest soils and those created for restoration projects; Unmanned Aerial Systems’ (UAS) mapping of former river channels’ crossing levees; Engineering With Nature® (EWN) resilience benefits; and extensive data results from forest volume measurements.
  • A new podcast series tells the stories of how, over the last 10 years, a growing international community of practitioners, scientists, engineers, and researchers across many disciplines and organizations are working together to combine natural and engineering systems to solve problems and diversify infrastructure value by applying the principles and practices of Engineering With Nature®.

    Protecting fragile coasts and improving community resilience

    In this episode of the new Engineering With Nature® Podcast, guest Monica Chasten, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District’s Operations Division, discusses Engineering With Nature (EWN) and her work and collaboration with other scientists and engineers to advance coastal dredging practices and the beneficial use of dredged material.
  • Dr. William “Bill” Martin

    ERDC to induct two to Distinguished Gallery

    The U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) will induct two former employees to the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) Gallery of Distinguished Civilian Employees Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. Central in the ERDC Headquarters Auditorium.
  • The new Climatic Chamber Building will serve as a Material Evaluation Facility. Completion of this facility will provide a critical means to examine extreme cold weather environments under test conditions necessary to develop and validate Army field materiel which is required for soldier and unit readiness.

    ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory builds Climatic Chamber Facility

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) announced July 9, 2020, that the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) was awarded an Unspecified Minor Military Construction Authority contract to build a Climatic Chamber Facility on the Hanover, New Hampshire, campus.
  • Headshot of Dr. Alicia Ruvinsky

    Information Technology Laboratory employees win HENAAC awards

    Christine Lozano and Dr. Alicia Ruvinsky, both members of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Information Technology Laboratory team, were named winners of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Association Conference (HENAAC) 2020 Great Minds in STEM award.

  • September

    University of Sheffield’s Dr. Sam Rigby; U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Dr. Catie Stephens; Maj. Andy Wilson, U.K. liaison officer to ERDC; ERDC’s James Davis; and University of Sheffield’s Andy Tyas pictured at the University of Sheffield’s blast testing facility in Buxton, U.K., where the Characterisation of Blast Loading testing equipment is located.

    ERDC partners with UK university for survivability research

    In a world of rapidly evolving threats, solving the military’s toughest challenges calls for collaboration, sometimes even between people across the globe. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and its blast and weapons effects experts, teamed up with another internationally recognized organization, the United Kingdom’s University of Sheffield, to take a closer look at a dangerous threat to Soldiers everywhere—explosions.
  • The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineer Research Laboratory’s (CERL’s) first prototype of a 3D printed concrete building, the first of its kind in North and South America was constructed at the CERL campus, Champaign, Ill., in the summer of 2017.

    ERDC researchers are a driving force in construction scale 3D printing

    Since 2015, scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Construction Engineer Research Laboratory (CERL) have been exploring expeditionary additive construction technology, also known as construction scale 3D printing.
  • A new podcast series tells the stories of how, over the last 10 years, a growing international community of practitioners, scientists, engineers, and researchers across many disciplines and organizations are working together to combine natural and engineering systems to solve problems and diversify infrastructure value by applying the principles and practices of Engineering With Nature®.

    Collaborating to create wildlife habitat while restoring islands, improving community resilience

    In this episode of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, guest Paula Whitfield, research ecologist, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), discusses Engineering With Nature (EWN) as it relates to coastal and community resilience.
  • Dr. Genenvieve Pezzola, a U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) research civil engineer and team leader for the Expedient Retrofit for Existing Buildings (EREB) system, carefully shows Soldiers from the 5th Engineer Battalion how to properly secure each piece of the EREB system. During the Maneuver Support, Sustainment and Protection Integration Experiments-2020, or MSSPIX-20, demonstrations, researchers from the ERDC tested three different protection technologies and demonstrated the capability of each system, collected data and validated the performance and new system upgrades at Training Area 230 on Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Aug. 17, 2020.

    ERDC presents innovative battlefield technologies during MSSPIX-20

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the U.S. Army Futures Command, Futures and Concepts Center, in partnership with the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, have combined efforts and resources to test new technologies to be deployed on today’s battlefield in order to prevail in tomorrow’s conflicts.
  • Example of a computer simulation used by the robotics teams of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Sensor Integration Branch in the ERDC’s Information Technology Laboratory and the Environmental Processes Branch in the ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams were unable to complete real-world testing on their robots prompting them to capitalize on computer simulation software capabilities to meet mission requirements.

    Using virtual solutions for robotic testing during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are accustomed to finding unique and innovative approaches to solving today’s most challenging engineering problems. The current COVID-19 environment presented new obstacles for the Sensor Integration Branch (SIB) in the ERDC’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) and Environmental Processes Branch (CNE) in the ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, prompting the robotics group to capitalize on simulation software capabilities to meet mission requirements.
  • A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are key members of the collaborative During Nearshore Event Experiment, or DUNEX, conducted on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to study coastal processes associated with hurricanes, tropical storms and powerful nor’easters. The team is studying modern coastal features with a long-term perspective, focusing on the relationship with quantifiable coastal features and storm response. Team members include, Davin Wallace from USM, Eve Eisemann from ERDC, Erin Miller, Shara Gremillion and Bill Funderburk, all from USM.

    ERDC researchers participate in the During Nearshore Event Experiment to study coastal storm impacts

    As storms like Hurricane Laura continue to threaten our coasts with greater frequency and ferocity, researchers from across the country have joined a collaborative research effort to better understand these extreme events and improve coastal resilience.
  • A juvenile snowy egret observed in nests on the Horseshoe Bend Island during nesting season.

    Using natural forces, sediment to restore coastal marsh habitat

    In this episode of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, guest Jeff Corbino, environmental resources specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, shares several examples of Engineering With Nature (EWN) to restore coastal marsh habitat as a key part of the district’s navigation mission.
  • A juvenile snowy egret observed in nests on the Horseshoe Bend Island during nesting season.

    Using natural forces, sediment to restore coastal marsh habitat

    In this episode of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, guest Jeff Corbino, environmental resources specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, shares several examples of Engineering With Nature (EWN) to restore coastal marsh habitat as a key part of the district’s navigation mission.
  • Shea Hammond, a member of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory’s (EL) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) team, monitors a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data-collecting aircraft as it begins its survey of a section of the Bayou Pierre watershed near Vicksburg, Mississippi. Researchers from the ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory recently collaborated with the EL UAS team for a project to develop a rapid watershed assessment approach using the remote sensing technology.

    ERDC researchers developing low-cost, rapid watershed assessment

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District to develop and test a low-cost, rapid watershed assessment using remote sensing technology to evaluate problems associated with watershed instability including erosion, sedimentation, flooding and environmental degradation.

  • August

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) researchers stage a mobile dissolved air flotation system at Chautauqua Lake, New York, ahead of the Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System 2020 research demonstration. The ERDC and scientists from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are collaborating with industry partners to study harmful algal bloom mitigation technology in Chautauqua Lake from Aug. 19 through Sept. 4.

    ERDC, New York State research algal bloom mitigation in Chautauqua Lake

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and scientists from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are collaborating with industry partners to study harmful algal bloom (HAB) mitigation technology in Chautauqua Lake, New York, from Aug. 19 through Sept. 4.
  • The type of automated shuttles that will be used in a Smart Transportation Testbed, a yearlong pilot program to plan, develop, demonstrate and employ automated vehicle (AV) technologies, is pictured. The testbed project, which will start in Fort Carson, Colorado, in September 2020, is a project managed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to determine how AV technology can help the military reduce transportation costs, improve public safety and enable faster delivery of services.

    Smart Transportation Testbed pilot program underway in Colorado

    The Smart Transportation Testbed, a yearlong pilot program to plan, develop, demonstrate and employ automated vehicle (AV) technologies, is currently underway at Fort Carson, Colorado. The project, managed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), is designed to determine how AV technology can help the military reduce transportation costs, improve public safety and enable faster delivery of services.
  • A low light level camera inside the bell jar facility took this photograph during a test at Martian surface pressures and temperature. In the center is a small dewar of water being held at just above freezing. Water vapor from this pool quickly freezes on surrounding equipment. These features closely resemble what is seen in terrestrial Rodriguez wells, improving confidence in the experiment design.

    ERDC supports NASA’s mission to Mars

    In the 1960s during the Cold War, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) designed a device, commonly referred to as a Rodriguez well, or Rodwell, to harvest water under the ice in Greenland and Antarctica to sustain U.S. facilities by providing water for drinking, hygiene and other needs. Presently, NASA is working with CRREL to assess whether that same technology can provide water for human-inhabited research stations on Mars.
  • Harmful algal blooms (HABs) floating on the water surface near the middle of Lake Okeechobee, Fla. HABs are a challenging problem that has impacted the environment and economy across the Nation. Currently, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center researchers and their partners are studying and improving a method for removing and disposing of blue-green algae from the waterways.

    ERDC overcomes challenges in harmful algal bloom removal research

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) continued its quest to tackle the challenging problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in our nation’s waterways with a removal demonstration in Florida in July 2020. The ERDC research team and collaborators from engineering firm AECOM and the University of Illinois planned and executed the research study on HAB removal at Lake Okeechobee.

  • July

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Director Dr. David Pittman, left, congratulates Dr. Ricky Massaro of the Geospatial Research Laboratory in Alexandria, Va., on his U.S. Patent received in February 2020 for his “Method of Processing Full Motion Video Data for Photogrammetric Reconstruction."

    ERDC scientist receives patent for Soldiers’ 3-D terrain support

    Recognizing that accurate and timely terrain models are critical for Soldiers in many areas of the world, scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) invented a cost-efficient method to generate high-resolution 3-D terrain data using existing unmanned platforms.
  • U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Commander Col. Teresa Schlosser, front right, welcomed the five selectees for the 2020 six-month session of ERDC University, sponsored by the Office of Research and Technology Transfer and the Human Capital Office. Participating in kickoff activities March 3-6 were, from left, ERDC U Program Manager and ORTT Technology, Knowledge and Outreach Division Chief Tisa Webb; Civil Engineer Ceyda Polatel, Jacksonville District, assigned to the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory; Natural Resource Specialist Jason Knight, Tulsa District, assigned to the Environmental Laboratory; Cost Civil Engineer Ian Pumo, Seattle District, assigned to EL and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory; Biologist Aaron McFarlane, St. Paul District, assigned to EL; Geologist David Robison, Louisville District, assigned to Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory; and Human Capital Office Director Dr. Gary Anderton. U.S Army Corps of Engineers division and district participants partner with ERDC subject matter experts to apply and implement technical solutions.

    USACE Jacksonville District hydraulic engineer selected for ERDC U

    Although Dr. Ceyda Polatel first heard about the Engineer Research and Development Center University (ERDC U) through a former U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) employee, it wasn’t until she received an email and advice from her professional colleague, ERDC researcher Dr. Chuck Downer that she applied for the program.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering With Nature initiative is hosting Samuel Fielding as a participant in the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program. Since starting in February 2020, Fielding has become involved with several different EWN efforts to quantify the benefits of natural infrastructure and natural and nature-based features.

    Knauss Fellow, Engineering With Nature initiative a perfect match

    To Samuel Fielding, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative seemed like a perfect fit. As a prospective John A. Knauss Marine Fellow, Fielding was searching for a host organization where he could utilize his interdisciplinary education in economics, international relations and biology. His doctorate research was focused on the economics of coastal adaption and the socioeconomics of coastal hazards within flood insurance markets.

  • June

    Photo of Dr. Kent Newman.

    ERDC researcher honored by University of Southern Mississippi

    Dr. Kent Newman of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) received a distinguished honor from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) – the 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Arts and Sciences – in the spring of 2020.
  • Photo of Joe Bush

    CERL employee named USACE’s ‘Mechanical Engineer of the Year’

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) recently named Joseph Bush, a mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) headquarted in Champaign, Illinois, the 2020 “Mechanical Engineer of the Year.”
  • Data is collected using the Coastal Research Amphibious Buggy at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Field Research Facility (FRF) in Duck, N.C. The FRF’s civil works mission includes Coastal Ocean Data System and Coastal Field Data Collection under the Flood and Coastal Risk Management Research, Development and Technology (RD&T) program.

    Civil Works Research Area Review Groups go virtual during COVID-19 pandemic

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently overcame the hurdle of conducting its annual Environmental, Navigation and Flood Risk Management Research Area Review Groups (RARGs) virtually due to physical distancing considerations related to COVID-19. The RARG meetings, typically held over the course of a few days in April, are the cornerstones of the present USACE civil works research and development (R&D) process, facilitating review and ranking of research needs submitted by districts, divisions, centers of expertise and researchers across the organization. During typical in-person RARGs, the meetings also facilitate team-building, technology transfer and hands-on learning about facilities, emerging products and methods.