Engineer Research and Development Center News

CRREL working to keep ‘people out of harm’s way’ by using drones to find and identify unexploded ordnance

Justin Campfield, public affairs specialist — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:07:00 GMT

A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and Dartmouth College is pioneering a new way to keep humans out of harm’s way by using drones to find and identify unexploded ordnance.

From Apollo to Artemis: ERDC’s enduring role in space exploration

Kaley Webb, public affairs specialist — Fri, 29 May 2026 21:27:03 GMT

It has been more than 50 years since Neil Armstrong famously declared, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” as he became the first man to step onto the surface of the Moon. Since then, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has helped enable the next generation of space exploration.

ERDC, LEMA Power the Fight During FLEX 2026

Sarah Clark, public affairs specialist — Tue, 19 May 2026 17:00:47 GMT

As unmanned surface vessels carved through the waters off Key West, Florida, and autonomous aerial systems scanned the horizon for illicit trafficking targets, a quieter but equally critical mission was unfolding behind the scenes at U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet’s Fleet Experimentation (FLEX) 2026 exercise. Inside a network of command trailers operating advanced unmanned systems, researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) and industry partner LEMA were proving that the future of expeditionary operations depends not only on autonomous platforms and artificial intelligence, but also on resilient, unmanned energy systems capable of providing uninterrupted power in austere environments.

ERDC, Cache Energy advance long-duration energy storage for Army installations

Sarah Clark, public affairs specialist — Tue, 12 May 2026 19:09:30 GMT

Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) are advancing a next-generation energy storage capability designed to strengthen installation resilience during extended power disruptions.

ERDC, U.S. Forest Service make historic agreement to accelerate forest capabilities

Justus Reed, Public Affairs Specialist — Mon, 11 May 2026 19:58:00 GMT

Thanks to a historic agreement between the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the U.S. Forest Service, a foundational dataset has been created to bolster the nation’s forests.

From Lab to River: ERDC is removing roadblocks to infrastructure modernization

Tim Reeves, ERDC Corporate Communications Office — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:22:24 GMT

America’s locks and dams are on borrowed time, with many operating well beyond their life expectancy. The economic risk of a single failure has forced waterway managers to rely on long-standing technologies and designs, rather than adopting more modern, innovative components. To help reduce the risk and provide assurance to those managing and operating these structures, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center is designing a first-of-its-kind model to test, validate and accelerate the deployment of new infrastructure designs and critical components.

ERDC Advances Transformational Arctic Sustainment Technology for Warfighters

Sarah Clark, public affairs specialist — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:09:55 GMT

As the U.S. Army increases its operational focus in the Arctic, researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) are delivering a proven solution for one of the region’s toughest challenges — sustaining Soldiers in extreme cold weather.

ERDC, LEMA Drive Innovation in Unmanned Power Capabilities

Sarah Clark, public affairs specialist — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:03:58 GMT

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), in partnership with long-time industry collaborator LEMA, has reached two major milestones in the development of next-generation unmanned, resilient power generation systems designed to support military operations in austere and contested environments.

ERDC researchers conduct water assessment at USAG Bavaria-Garmisch in Germany

Justus Reed, Public Affairs Specialist — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:15:54 GMT

Ensuring safe, reliable drinking water is critical to protecting Soldier health and maintaining mission readiness at U.S. military facilities worldwide. To support that objective, three researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL) recently traveled to a U.S. military base in Germany to evaluate water quality, resilience and treatment needs.

Autonomous barge kits improve logistical capabilities for joint forces

Carol C. Coleman, public affairs specialist — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 17:09:46 GMT

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has partnered with the U.S. Transportation Command to develop Scalable Autonomous Modular Propulsion kits for coastal and riverine Operational Logistics, or SAMPOL.

CRREL team pioneers fiber-optic technology to measure ice thickness

Justin Campfield, public affairs specialist — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:09:39 GMT

A team of scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, is putting fiber-optic cable to a much more unconventional use: determining the thickness – and therefore safety – of freshwater ice.

CERL archaeologists conduct geophysical survey to identify potential burial sites

Justus Reed, Public Affairs Specialist — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 19:33:13 GMT

Archaeologists from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) are working on a project centered on surveying and identifying known and unknown burial sites. In June, CERL archaeologists recently conducted a non-invasive geophysical survey to identify potential locations for ancestors' burial in the upper Wabash Region in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District.

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 enhances HAB detections through interactive, real-time dashboard

Sophia Espinosa, Public Affairs Specialist — Mon, 05 May 2025 15:07:43 GMT

A team from the the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is making strides to combat harmful algal blooms (HABs) through its innovative Depth Resolved Algal Bloom Mapping (DRABM) initiative. By creating an interactive, real-time dashboard that visualizes subsurface water quality data, ERDC is transforming how HABs are detected and managed, helping to protect public health, support local economies and enhance flood risk management operations.

ERDC plays critical role in review of first 3D printed Army barracks

Sophia Espinosa, Public Affairs Specialist — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 17:20:00 GMT

The U.S. Army is taking a giant leap into the future of military construction with the debut of its first-ever additively constructed (3D-printed) Army barracks in Fort Bliss, Texas, and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) played an important role in making the demonstration successful.

ERDC-CRREL’s Fragoso named LUCI fellow

Pentagon News — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:39:10 GMT

The Department of Defense has named Dr. Anthony Fragoso, a research physicist at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), a 2025 Laboratory-University Collaboration Initiative (LUCI) fellow.

ERDC R&D honored at USACE Innovation Awards

Justus Reed, Public Affairs Specialist — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:04:41 GMT

Groundbreaking research and technologies earned the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) multiple accolades at the 2024 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Innovation of the Year Awards.

ERDC researchers discovering hidden caves in Alaska

Sophia Espinosa, Public Affairs Specialist — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 19:20:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Engineer Research Development Center's (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) is leading a study alongside the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to document cave biodiversity in the TNF and explore how these unique subterranean communities are connected using molecular genetic tools.

ERDC partners with UW-Madison and NPS to advance historic preservation

Sophia Espinosa, Public Affairs Specialist — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 15:15:42 GMT

A team of experts from ERDC's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the National Park Service is using advanced fiber optic technology and 3D scanning to improve historic preservation and structural monitoring.

Base of oyster reef restoration project in the Mississippi Sound completed

By Mary Miller Morgan, public affairs specialist — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 20:45:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) recently worked alongside the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to complete a crucial phase of a collaboration project to investigate methods for optimizing oyster habitat restoration in the Mississippi Sound.