The Port of Nome is undergoing a major modernization effort with the goal of providing a safe, reliable, and efficient transportation system for commerce, national security, and tourism. As a crucial regional hub for the Seward Peninsula and western Alaska, this project in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Alaska District addresses the port's current depth limitations to better serve the community, the region and the military. The project requires a design modification that will enlarge the harbor's outer basin and create a new deep-water basin at minus 40 feet, enabling safer access for larger-class vessels. To validate the new design, district engineers and Alaska Marine Pilots sought out the assets and expertise of the U.S. Army Watercraft and Ship Simulator at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). The initial simulations tested the proposed designs under real-world conditions, ensuring the safety and efficiency of the final selection. The most recent simulations brought the group back to ERDC to confirm the initial phased approach to the project. Watch to learn more about ERDC’s role in furthering the success of this project and what it means for its USACE and Port of Nome stakeholders.

As Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 4 storm in October 2024, a small camera station nearby operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers documented its arrival and impact on the coastline. The cameras are part of the CorpsCam network developed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). The cameras continued to operate throughout the storm, collecting invaluable data and images of the extensive storm surge, structural overtopping and large waves. And they did it all while transmitting that data in near real time. The system’s ability to collect and transmit data while taking a direct hit from a hurricane showcased both the system’s resilience and its importance for helping engineers and scientists better understand severe coastal storms and their impact on our coastlines. ERDC developed CorpsCam to overcome the challenges of surveying inaccessible areas after storms, withstanding hurricane-force winds to capture bathymetry and images or to stand watch over natural coastline processes. The system has also become an invaluable tool to engineers across USACE to better monitor the progress of federal beach and other coastal projects, and the ongoing resilience of those coastlines. Watch this video to learn more about the development, growth and impact of CorpsCam. #coastalines #coastalengineering #beaches #cameras #camerasystems #monitoring #hurricanes #tropicalstorms #coastalerosion #erosion #resilentcoastlines #data #dataanalytics #bathymetry #coastalprocesses #engineer #engineers #engineering #innovation #technology #science #research #researchanddevelopment #PowerofERDC

Military logistics operations in austere environments can often be hindered by the lack of force mobility across littoral zones, riverine shorelines and wet/dry gaps. These environments can rapidly transition between wet and dry states, present steep slopes, and have weak soils that limit vehicle weight and number of passes. The current solution used by the warfighter is the deployment of structural mediums to traverse soft soils, but these have environmental limitations. The existing matting and site-stabilization systems cannot be readily adapted for submerged or partially submerged conditions along the shoreline. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is overcoming this force projection challenge with the development of SUBMAT, a submersible matting system, to facilitate mobility across the shoreline and wet/dry gaps. The system combines current soil stability technology and mobility matting into a single product that is rapidly deployable from vehicles, small-craft vessels or by hand. To accelerate their SUBMAT vision, ERDC sought the help of ERDCWERX, a partnership intermediary, to facilitate the search for an industry partner for prototype development, testing, and possible tech transfer. Watch to learn more about the evolution of SUBMAT and its potential as a force projection multiplier for logistic operations over the shore. Industry Video and Interview: Logan Hossley, ERDCWERX

Military logistics operations in austere environments can often be hindered by the lack of force mobility across littoral zones, riverine shorelines and wet/dry gaps. These environments can rapidly transition between wet and dry states, present steep slopes, and have weak soils that limit vehicle weight and number of passes. The current solution used by the warfighter is the deployment of structural mediums to traverse soft soils, but these have environmental limitations. The existing matting and site-stabilization systems cannot be readily adapted for submerged or partially submerged conditions along the shoreline. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is overcoming this force projection challenge with the development of SUBMAT, a submersible matting system, to facilitate mobility across the shoreline and wet/dry gaps. The system combines current soil stability technology and mobility matting into a single product that is rapidly deployable from vehicles, small-craft vessels or by hand. To accelerate their SUBMAT vision, ERDC sought the help of ERDCWERX, a partnership intermediary, to facilitate the search for an industry partner for prototype development, testing, and possible tech transfer. Watch to learn more about the evolution of SUBMAT and its potential as a force projection multiplier for logistic operations over the shore. Industry video and interview: Logan Hossley, ERDCWERX

Justin Strickler and August Johnson from the U.S. Army...

Beginning in October, the Power of ERDC podcast will...

History was made this summer when the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) hosted cadets and midshipmen from each of the U.S. service academies for the first known complete inter academy internship. As part of each academy’s Cadet Summer Research Internship, this opportunity provided an immersive research and development experience supporting field data collection at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey and artificial intelligence model development at the ERDC Environmental Laboratory (EL). Supporting research within the Intelligent Environmental Battlespace Awareness (IEBA) Program, Global Forest Characterization Task, this two-week internship included one week of field data collection and analysis at JBMDL, and one week of model development training at EL. Field data collection at JBMDL included plot-level forest sampling to quantify forest attributes related to radiofrequency propagation through forests. The data collected will be used to inform mission critical environmental intelligence and was used to develop individual research projects tailored towards each cadet’s areas of study and experience. Beyond the science, the internship focused on growth and collaboration, which included introducing the cadets and midshipmen to the world-class research and development ERDC delivers in support of the Warfighter, and how it might impact their future as military officers in ever-increasing complex and joint environments. Watch this video to learn more about their experience.

History was made this summer when the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) hosted cadets and midshipmen from each of the U.S. service academies for the first known complete inter academy internship. As part of each academy’s Cadet Summer Research Internship, this opportunity provided an immersive research and development experience supporting field data collection at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey and artificial intelligence model development at the ERDC Environmental Laboratory (EL). Supporting research within the Intelligent Environmental Battlespace Awareness (IEBA) Program, Global Forest Characterization Task, this two-week internship included one week of field data collection and analysis at JBMDL, and one week of model development training at EL. Field data collection at JBMDL included plot-level forest sampling to quantify forest attributes related to radiofrequency propagation through forests. The data collected will be used to inform mission critical environmental intelligence and was used to develop individual research projects tailored towards each cadet’s areas of study and experience. Beyond the science, the internship focused on growth and collaboration, which included introducing the cadets and midshipmen to the world-class research and development ERDC delivers in support of the Warfighter, and how it might impact their future as military officers in ever-increasing complex and joint environments. Watch this video to learn more about their experience.

Maneuver-enabling infrastructure is critical to mission success. But building this infrastructure in austere or remote environments comes with significant challenges — from material transport to construction speed. At the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), researchers are exploring additive construction technology to address these challenges. By combining a portable mixer, custom-built material pump and tower printer, this approach allows the Army to 3D-print infrastructure using local materials, reducing the need to transport heavy supplies overseas. This innovation not only saves time and money, but also strengthens mission readiness by enabling rapid, flexible solutions for combat support and counter-mobility operations. Watch to see how ERDC and its industry partners are shaping the future of Army infrastructure. U.S. Army Video by Greg Mason, Fort McCoy Multimedia-Visual Information Office

This summer, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) provided research internships to more than 45 high school, undergraduate, and graduate student STEM scholars from 20 schools. Designed to prepare the next generation of STEM professionals for careers in science and technology, the internships give scholars the opportunity to join a CRREL research team working on real projects with real-world implications while also exploring their own individualized research interests. "Our summer intern program is great for students because we give them hands on opportunities to solve problems that matter to our country," said Dr. Orian Welling, chief of CRREL's Research and Engineering Division. "For us it's just an awesome opportunity to get an injection of fresh ideas from students who are bringing the latest from academia into our problem space and it’s a great recruiting pipeline." The interns' summer at CRREL culminated in a student science and technology symposium where they presented their research findings to the laboratory's research scientist staff. To learn more about student opportunities at CRREL and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, visit https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Careers/Student-Opportunities.

Coastal engineers, emergency response teams and military planners may soon have a new best friend, thanks to continued research at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). For several weeks, a quadruped robot was deployed along North Carolina beaches – at the ERDC Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina – to test its ability to navigate the unique coastline terrain, deploy advanced sensors and collect critical landscape data. The Sand Hound project – a partnership between ERDC and the University of Delaware – has sought to test the commercially available technology, pushing it to the limits and writing the book on how best to deploy such technology for either civil works or military missions. #robotics #military #civilworks #quadruped #sensors #sensortechnology #lidar #beaches #coastal #coastalengineering #coastline #northcarolina #militaryplanning #emergencyresponse #engineer #engineers #engineering #landscape #delaware #universityofdelaware #academia #collaboration #partnerships #science #innovation #technology #research #researchanddevelopment #PowerofERDC

Recently, a powerful earthquake near Russia’s northern Pacific coast triggered a tsunami that set off alerts across the Pacific Ocean basin, including coastal communities in Alaska, Oregon, California and Hawaii. For hours, buoys throughout several networks – including the Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis network – tracked the tsunami’s speed and resulting wave heights, giving emergency officials throughout the region critical data points to decide when to issue evacuation alerts. As the waves made their way across the ocean, traveling as much as 500 miles per hour, engineers and scientists were running models, collecting data and watching. Thankfully, the tsunami greatly dissipated, resulting in minimal damage across the region. For decades, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), in collaboration with other federal agencies and universities, has used buoy data to develop, enhance and share high-performance wave and storm models. These models will be further enhanced with the data collected from this recent event. Drs. Kate Brodie and Ali Abdolali, oceanographers with ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, discuss the tsunami and the ongoing research into better understanding the threat posed by severe weather events.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, manages hundreds of locks and dams, which are critical components of a complex navigation system that is central to our nation’s economy and security. Inspecting this aging aquatic infrastructure often requires costly and dangerous processes, such as deploying divers or dewatering structures, which shuts down the flow of goods and materials. To help USACE districts perform these inspections in a safer and more cost-effective manner, and with higher quality, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has been testing the use of an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV). By conducting research into how to best use this off-the-shelf technology for underwater inspections, the ERDC is testing, validating and developing systematic and best practices. This insight will help USACE know what works, what doesn’t and will enable them to fully capitalize on the transformative potential of ROVs for underwater inspections. Watch this video to learn more. #military #civilworks #infrastructure #lock #dams #navigation #inlandnavigation #economy #nationalsecurity #rivers #robotics #underwater #engineer #engineers #engineering #science #innovation #technology #research #researchanddevelopment #PowerofERDC

At the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, innovation is transforming the speed and scale of delivery to the Warfighter and the nation – elevating mission readiness and the sustainment of critical infrastructure. From rapid part replacement in inland navigation systems to the use of high-performance materials for military engineering, large-scale metal additive manufacturing is revolutionizing defense and infrastructure readiness. A defining metric has been speed. Parts that used to take 18 months or more to manufacture with traditional methods can now be produced in weeks using additive manufacturing. Through partnerships with industry and academia, ERDC is raising the bar on scalable, efficient and mission-ready technology solutions for our nation and military. Watch to learn more.