Nature is the ultimate designer, and incorporating nature-inspired designs into coastal infrastructure can provide maximum resilience, as well as economic, environmental and social benefits. However, doing so has been difficult because of constraints in traditional manufacturing. Rapid advancements in additive manufacturing and pioneering research by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have opened new possibilities. Looking to capitalize, a team at ERDC is studying how 3D-printing can create geometrically complex structures needed to mimic nature. As an added first-time innovation, this Engineering With Nature® project beneficially uses dredged material as feedstock for the printers, turning a waste material into a valuable resource and helping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reach its goal to beneficially use 70 percent of dredged material by the year 2030. For more information about the project, visit ewn.erdc.dren.mil/research/project/removing-artificial-from-artificial-habitats-3d-printing-natural-materials-to-unlock-complex-nature-inspired-infrastructure/.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with their partners, developed and deployed innovative numerical simulation and probabilistic analysis methods to better quantify hurricane storm surge flooding. This effort culminated in the development of the Coastal Hazards System (CHS), a national-scale, multi-agency initiative that provides accurate, robust, and consistent quantification of coastal storm hazards along U.S. coastlines and other locations of interest to national security. Data from the CHS can be used for various applications in support of USACE’s Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM), Flood Risk Management (FRM), and Navigation (NAV) missions, including coastal engineering design, risk assessment, and inundation mapping. USACE coastal projects, federal research and development initiatives, flood-risk mapping, and emergency management activities all use CHS storm data to plan, design, and ascertain risk. These activities are supported by high-resolution numerical modeling and cutting-edge machine learning analyses. Additionally, the CHS has led to an improved understanding of complex coastal storm processes by federal, state, and local governments, and the public at large.

Millions of acres of surface water nationwide are infested with non-indigenous, problem-causing aquatic plants like Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla and yellow floating heart. These plants, with no natural enemies in the United States, can be detrimental to our aquatic ecosystems – interfering with navigation, flood control, hydropower production and waterborne recreation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) faces this challenge daily in the management of more than 5.5-million surface acres of water at its reservoir and navigation projects across the United States. Aquatic plant management in the U.S. costs millions annually to USACE districts and states, primarily through herbicide application. However, other solutions are being explored by USACE’s Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. The Aquatic Plant Control Research Program has been leveraging the expertise and world-class facilities of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in the development of management strategies for these non-indigenous aquatic plants. To gain knowledge of these plant species, ERDC’s researchers have fostered international collaborations with partners across the globe. These partnerships are instrumental in gathering year-round data. Their latest effort has taken them to South Korea in the search for a suitable biological control agent for Yellow Floating Heart. Watch to learn more.

Millions of acres of surface water nationwide are infested with non-indigenous, problem-causing aquatic plants like Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla and yellow floating heart. These plants, with no natural enemies in the United States, can be detrimental to our aquatic ecosystems – interfering with navigation, flood control, hydropower production and waterborne recreation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) faces this challenge daily in the management of more than 5.5-million surface acres of water at its reservoir and navigation projects across the United States. Aquatic plant management in the U.S. costs millions annually to USACE districts and states, primarily through herbicide application. However, other solutions are being explored by USACE’s Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. The Aquatic Plant Control Research Program has been leveraging the expertise and world-class facilities of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in the development of management strategies for these non-indigenous aquatic plants. To gain knowledge of these plant species, ERDC’s researchers have fostered international collaborations with partners across the globe. These partnerships are instrumental in gathering year-round data. Their latest effort has taken them to South Korea in the search for a suitable biological control agent for Yellow Floating Heart. Watch to learn more.

If a critical part breaks in the arctic, or other similarly remote and austere environments, forward-deployed warfighters can’t just order a replacement on the internet and have it shipped overnight. But what if they could manufacturer it onsite themselves? That was the premise behind the Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program’s first-of-its-kind Point of Need Manufacturing Challenge, held December 4-8, at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire. The event showcased technologies generated by member companies of the Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute. Six projects, selected for funding in March by ManTech and DoD expert judges, used the event to demonstrate that their systems could be deployed in a cold weather environment to help close supply chain gaps and enable warfighters to manufacture and utilize critical equipment right where they need it. “Material performance in the cold is different,” said Dr. Steven Wax, acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. “We must understand this to adapt to support current operations.” According to Stephen Luckowski, an advanced manufacturing associate at the Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, CRREL was selected by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense to host the event because of the unique capabilities that exist at the laboratory. “The cold temperature capabilities at minus-60 degrees emulate the environments that we believe we will see in operations around the world,” Luckowski said. “This is a unique capability in the United States, and the only place where we could actually execute this type of work.” One of the industry participants, Anusha Iyer, CEO and founder of Vienna, Virginia-based Corsha, said the opportunity to work in such extreme cold temperatures was invaluable. “It’s been an incredible experience being able to come here and do this exercise at CRREL and really simulate that our platform can work at these kinds of extreme, austere temperatures and environments, and make sure that we’re putting in place technologies and solutions for the warfighter that will help them at point of need,” said Iyer, whose team demonstrated a platform that manages cybersecurity challenges presented by point-of-need manufacturing. “It’s only when you come into these types of settings that you see the unique constraints — everything that you take for granted sitting in an office or sitting in a secure data center that’s warmed up and continually connected — it’s a totally different playing field when you come into an environment like this. Everything from connectivity to cabling, to environmental constraints, are what we are solving for, and it’s great to do it in a live environment like this.” Defense officials from allied partner nations joined senior leaders and general officers from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military services, defense agencies and the National Guard to witness manufacturing demonstrations in extreme cold temperatures. Wax was joined by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Deputy Commanding General Brigadier General David Trybula and DoD ManTech Director Tracy Frost in attending the event and interacting with and congratulating the developers on their accomplishments advancing the defense technologies to meet the warfighters’ needs. The event allowed CRREL’s scientists and engineers to demonstrate the laboratory’s capabilities and forge important relationships with defense industry and DoD personnel. “Hosting the Point of Need Challenge provided an opportunity for the CRREL community of scientists and engineers to not only support a significant DoD technology demonstration, but also to connect with, and develop, new partnerships with the larger DoD community of stakeholders,” said Dr. Joseph Corriveau, director of CRREL. “Through these partnerships our ultimate goal is to work together on tomorrow’s challenges, today.” Those new partnerships have already begun to pay dividends, according to Dr. Orian Welling, chief of CRREL’s Force Projection and Sustainment Branch. “Since the event, I’ve talked to several researchers who’ve been invited to engage on numerous topics, including participating in events this winter with SOCOM, holding trainings for our staff in Picatinny, and collaborating with researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and Natick Soldier Center,” said Welling. The projects covered three challenges — the Warfighter Medical, Health and Nutrition Challenge; the Staying in the Fight Challenge; and the Cyber Challenge — and were assessed in real time by Soldiers, Marines, National Guardsmen and engineers. ManTech will invest nearly $2.5 million, while industry partners will contribute nearly $700,000 in cost share.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) takes on highly interdisciplinary research areas that are of critical importance to military operations. ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory is at the forefront of research that’s supporting the Department of Defense’s Arctic Strategy and capabilities in areas such as mobility and extreme cold weather operations. To better help the military achieve mission success in the Arctic’s extreme environment, ERDC has been focused on the region’s primary challenge, ice. An interdisciplinary team of researchers is now engaged in studying the material properties of ice -- examining it as both an adversary and a resource, with the objective of advancing force projection and force protection capabilities in Arctic regions. Watch to learn more.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) takes on highly interdisciplinary research areas that are of critical importance to military operations. ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory is at the forefront of research that’s supporting the Department of Defense’s Arctic Strategy and capabilities in areas such as mobility and extreme cold weather operations. To better help the military achieve mission success in the Arctic’s extreme environment, ERDC has been focused on the region’s primary challenge, ice. An interdisciplinary team of researchers is now engaged in studying the material properties of ice -- examining it as both an adversary and a resource, with the objective of advancing force projection and force protection capabilities in Arctic regions. Watch to learn more.

Katie Martin demonstrates the operations of the ERDC STORME table

A team from the USACE Detroit District recently visited the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to review ongoing research and development projects in the areas of military engineering and civil works. The visit gave Detroit District Commander Lt. Col. Brett Boyle and his team the opportunity to review technologies already available to address challenges the district is facing and to engage with ERDC’s engineers and scientists about future collaboration. Watch this video to learn more about Detroit District’s visit and the improvements they have made in their project planning process by involving R&D earlier in the process.

Justin Strickler from the U.S. Army Engineer Research...

Building upon decades of research and expertise, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is supporting the USACE New Orleans District and emergency officials as they respond to the intrusion of saltwater along the Mississippi River in south Louisiana. Lower precipitation totals across much of the central portion of the United States this summer have not only caused drought conditions in multiple states but have also led to a smaller and weaker Mississippi River. As a result, saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico that is normally held back by the force of the Mississippi River is now slowly making its way up the river, causing significant threats to communities in south Louisiana and their drinking water. In addition to modeling and forecasting the creep of saltwater up the river, ERDC is also providing world-class engineering support in mitigation efforts that include modifications to a sill – or underwater dam – that is designed to slow the intrusion.

Leveraging the power of interdisciplinary efforts at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), researchers are elevating the use of innovative construction materials, reducing the amount of CO2 emissions tied to traditional construction methods and providing sustainable solutions for the Department of Defense and the nation. Recently, Dr. Matt Glasscott, a research chemist at ERDC Environmental Laboratory, talked about the work to better understand the impact of sustainable building materials, how ERDC is at the forefront of this vital research and how ERDC’s multi-lab approach to critical challenges makes it perfectly suited to discover, develop and deliver these needed solutions.

Leveraging the power of interdisciplinary efforts at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), researchers are elevating the use of innovative construction materials, reducing the amount of CO2 emissions tied to traditional construction methods and providing sustainable solutions for the Department of Defense and the nation. Recently, Dr. Matt Glasscott, a research chemist at ERDC Environmental Laboratory, talked about the work to better understand the impact of sustainable building materials, how ERDC is at the forefront of this vital research and how ERDC’s multi-lab approach to critical challenges makes it perfectly suited to discover, develop and deliver these needed solutions.

Clean water can often be an afterthought in our daily lives, but not for the ERDC researchers who are performing state-of-the-art science and engineering to address sustainable water infrastructure challenges, such as providing clean water, as well as removing contaminants and extracting resources from water. This research space is focused on emerging contaminants, which are a consequence of high technology and advanced chemicals. To meet this challenge, ERDC is implementing a multidisciplinary approach that harnesses material technologies and processes that not only treat and remove contaminants from various water sources, but also target specific contaminants. These water infrastructure solutions will serve not only our military, but the nation too.