• Reopening of Visitor Centers

    The visitor centers will be reopening at W. Kerr Scott Lake, Philpott Lake, Falls Lake, B. Everett Jordan Lake, and John H. Kerr Dam and Lake.
  • Corps of Engineers student trainee heads to med school

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., -A Lake Superior State University graduate is gaining valuable work experience with the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ Soo Area Office as an Industrial Hygienist-Intern before heading to medical school this fall. Sophie McConkey, a local to the Sault Ste. Marie area, found out about the Corps of Engineers’ student trainee internship through a friend of the family. She applied for the position in early 2020 as a chance to work in a field directly related to her degree and that offered her a chance to grow professionally in her area of study at Lake Superior State University. During an interview with Sophie about her time with the Corps of Engineers and her student trainee internship, she answered the following questions:
  • New leadership assumes command of the Transatlantic Expeditionary District

    Still in its infancy, the Transatlantic Expeditionary District welcomes its second commander after just standing up the District a little over a month ago.
  • Mark Twain Lake High Water Update

    Mark Twain Lake, June 26, 2021 – The Salt River basin that forms Mark Twain Lake has been subjected to heavy precipitation during the last 48 hours. As a result, the lake level is rising rapidly. With additional precipitation forecasted it is anticipated to bring the lake’s level up to 621.0 NGVD by Thursday, July 1, 2021.  Normal lake elevation is 606.0 NGVD.  You will likely find floating and submerged debris on the lake as the water rises so please be cautious and always wear a life jacket.
  • USACE Chicago District hosts Great Lakes Inspection Tour

    Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Chicago District, with the help of its sister districts in Detroit and Buffalo, hosted a Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Great Lakes Inspection Tour (GLINT) to engage local, state and federal senior leaders and develop strategic partnerships with a focus on improving Great Lakes coastal resiliency.
  • Memphis District employee proud of Valedictorian daughter

    The Memphis District prides itself on the many achievements made by our employees throughout the year. Not only that, but we consider it especially valuable when employees and their family members experience greatness for their hard work outside of the district. Recently the district had a very special reason to celebrate. Erika Wallace, daughter of M/V Mississippi Machinery Mechanic Ervin Wallace, just graduated from Frederick Douglass Public High School as Valedictorian, with an astounding 4.4 GPA.
  • Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center reopens

    DULUTH, Minn., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reopening the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Canal Park 10:00 a.m. July 1. The Detroit District’s Duluth Area Office is opening the Visitor Center to the public after closing for over a year to due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks are required inside the building for guests who are not fully vaccinated. Guests should help maintain a safe environment by practicing social distancing with those outside their group and are asked not to enter the building if they are not feeling well.
  • Rotor Blade Design Framework for Airfoil Shape Optimization with Performance Considerations

    Abstract: A framework for optimizing rotor blade airfoil shape is presented. The framework uses two digital workflows created within the Galaxy Simulation Builder (GSB) software package. The first is a workflow enabling the automated creation of a surrogate model for predicting airfoil performance coefficients. An accurate surrogate model for the rapid generation of airfoil coefficient tables has been developed using linear interpolation techniques that is based on C81Gen and ARC2D CFD codes. The second workflow defines the rotor blade optimization problem using GSB and the Dakota numerical optimization library. The presented example uses a quasi-Newton optimization algorithm to optimize the tip region of the UH-60A main rotor blade with respect to vehicle performance. This is accomplished by morphing the blade tip airfoil shape for optimum power, subject to a constraint on the maximum pitch link load.
  • A Physics-Informed Neural Network for Sound Propagation in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

    Abstract: We describe what we believe is the first effort to develop a physics-informed neural network (PINN) to predict sound propagation through the atmospheric boundary layer. PINN is a recent innovation in the application of deep learning to simulate physics. The motivation is to combine the strengths of data-driven models and physics models, thereby producing a regularized surrogate model using less data than a purely data-driven model. In a PINN, the data-driven loss function is augmented with penalty terms for deviations from the underlying physics, e.g., a governing equation or a boundary condition. Training data are obtained from Crank-Nicholson solutions of the parabolic equation with homogeneous ground impedance and Monin-Obukhov similarity theory for the effective sound speed in the moving atmosphere. Training data are random samples from an ensemble of solutions for combinations of parameters governing the impedance and the effective sound speed. PINN output is processed to produce realizations of transmission loss that look much like the Crank-Nicholson solutions. We describe the framework for implementing PINN for outdoor sound, and we outline practical matters related to network architecture, the size of the training set, the physics-informed loss function, and challenge of managing the spatial complexity of the complex pressure.
  • ERDC researcher named Asian American Most Promising Engineer of the Year

    Indu Shukla, a computer scientist at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), was recently chosen for the Asian American Most Promising Engineer of the Year Award, which is presented each year as part of National Engineers Week.