Engineer Research and Development Center News

Camera, sensors don’t blink as nor’easter unleashes on the Outer Banks

Pentagon News — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:41:56 GMT

Recently, a strong nor’easter took aim at the Outer Banks in North Carolina and sitting right in the middle of its path was ERDC's Field Research Facility (FRF) known for its coastal engineering expertise and world-class research capabilities.

USACE celebrates opening of new I-ATLAS facility

Mary Margaret Edney, Public Affairs Chief — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:03:04 GMT

In partnership with the Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) cut the ribbon on the new home for I-ATLAS — a collaborative coastal mapping effort that provides the data needed to prepare, respond and stay ahead of emerging challenges in both civil works and national defense operations.

Coastal engineer rescues children caught in large vessel wakes

Tim Reeves, ERDC Corporate Communications Office — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 14:40:09 GMT

In March, Tanner Jernigan was supporting an ongoing research project on Tybee Island, Georgia, when the unthinkable happened and Jernigan jumped in to rescue the lives of three children. Jernigan, a coastal research engineer with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), works at the ERDC Field Research Facility, part of the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory.

ERDC looks to modernize flood models with levee vegetation index

Justin Campfield, ERDC public affairs specialist — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 14:48:00 GMT

A multidisciplinary ERDC team is working to modernize widely used flood models such as StormSim and Hydrologic Engineering Center software by developing a vegetation index that more comprehensively quantifies vegetation stability on coastal levees. The index will incorporate an array of ecological measurements, such as root/shoot ratios, evapotranspiration rates, soil moisture, vegetation shear, root strength, and vegetation age, size and type.

Probabilistic models aid the long-term assessment of coastal dune stability

Carol Coleman, ERDC public affairs specialist — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:57:00 GMT

Researchers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are working on a set of tools to assist coastal planners in forecasting the evolution of coastlines and coastal dunes to help inform decision making and basic planning efforts.

Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis model version 8.0 released

Carol Coleman, public affairs specialist — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 14:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) recently announced the release of version 8.0 of the Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) model.

ERDC researchers participate in valuable workshop for coastal research and development

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 15:50:49 GMT

As the effects of climate change threaten coastal communities through extreme natural events such as hurricanes, coastal storms, tsunamis and landslides, and contribute to longer-term risks of coastal erosion and sea level rise, coastal research professionals continue to work together to identify priorities and leverage resources.

From waste to resource

Chris Kieffer, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 21:07:00 GMT

A new project from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is helping meet ambitious goals for beneficially using the material it dredges by exploring how 3D printers can transform the dredged sediment into a building block for ecosystem restoration.

FUNWAVE Model is a Feasible Solution for Vessel Wake Issues

Crystal Maynard, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 20:20:00 GMT

FUNWAVE, a numerical wave model that simulates ocean surface wave propagation in shallow and intermediate water was developed and updated by ERDC and released in 1998. It can be used to model complex coastal processes, such as tsunami waves, coastal inundation, wave propagation and surf zone-scale optical properties.

Multi-laboratory project explores ways to deliver manpower, supplies over complex Arctic shorelines

Justin Campfield, public affairs specialist — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:29:16 GMT

Earlier this month, Integrated Support for Operations in Polar Seas (ISOPS) team members – comprised of interdisciplinary personnel from ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory – conducted fieldwork in Utqiagvik, Alaska, aimed at accelerating development of environmental support tools for Logistics-Over-The-Shore (LOTS) operations across Arctic coastal boundaries.

Natural features to play crucial role in building a more resilient Great Lakes coastline

David F. Bucaro Chief, Planning Branch, USACE Chicago District — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 20:21:41 GMT

Communities along the Great Lakes coastline are experiencing increased frequency in coastal flooding and erosion, causing property damage, putting lives at risk, and disrupting local economies. With the support of the Engineering With Nature® (EWN) program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) can provide technical direction and guidance to USACE Districts around the nation to look at innovative ways of improving coastal resilience.

Researchers analyze, share DUNEX data for coastal resiliency

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 16:09:08 GMT

As the 2023 hurricane season begins, participants in the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP)-supported During Nearshore Event Experiment (DUNEX) are hard at work to analyze their collected data and share their results with other coastal researchers and the broader coastal community.

ERDC’s Field Research Facility to hold ribbon cutting ceremony for new annex

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 21:20:34 GMT

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new annex building at its Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, January 19 at 10 a.m. EST.

ERDC’s Dunkin named USACE Manager of the Year

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:59:24 GMT

Lauren Dunkin, chief of the Coastal Engineering Branch at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), has been named the U.S. Army Corps Engineers (USACE) Manager of the Year.

USACE Engineering With Nature program recognized with international award

Jason Scott, ERDC public affairs specialist — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 17:23:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) program was recently recognized by the U.K. Environment Agency.

Smith inducted into the ERDC-WES Gallery of Distinguished Employees

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 20:37:00 GMT

Dr. Jane McKee Smith became the newest member inducted into the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) Gallery of Distinguished Employees in a ceremony held at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) main headquarters July 20, 2022.

ERDC Environmental Laboratory team receives prestigious technical achievement award

Jason Scott, ERDC public affairs specialist — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 14:57:00 GMT

A team from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL) recently received the Sebastian Sizgoric Technical Achievement Award from the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) at their annual Coastal Mapping and Charting Workshop. The award recognizes any worldwide public or private contributor striving to advance the science of using light detection and ranging, or lidar, in coastal mapping and charting.

Cagle joins the ERDC’s Coastal, Hydraulics Laboratory

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 15:56:08 GMT

Taylor Cagle has joined the Hydrologic Systems Branch in the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC).

ERDC researchers engage citizen scientists in data collection

Carol C. Coleman, ERDC Public Affairs Specialist — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 19:15:48 GMT

Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), along with the U.S. Geological Service, Marda Science and James Madison University, are engaging citizen scientists in a national SandSnap initiative to amass a spatial and temporally varying nationwide beach grain-size database.

U.S. Coastal Research Program’s During Nearshore Event Experiment begins fall 2021

By Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 20:48:45 GMT

Leading coastal scientists and engineers from across the U.S. will descend upon the Outer Banks of North Carolina this fall as part of the U.S. Coastal Research Program’s During Nearshore Event Experiment, or DUNEX, to study the physical processes behind storm impacts to beaches, dunes and coastal communities.