Developed to support the critical missions of the U.S. Army’s dive teams, the Multifunctional Assessment Reconnaissance Vessel II (MARV II) has now seen its mission portfolio expanded to support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works projects and respond to natural disasters. The innovative deployable platform allows for remote surveys and can operate in as little as six inches of water. Engineers and scientists at ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) are constantly researching ways to increase the vehicle’s capabilities and discovering new areas where its technology can be used to support the Army and the nation. MARV II was recently on display during the USACE Structural Engineering and Technology Symposium, hosted at ERDC’s headquarters in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Learn more about MARV II from William Butler, chief of CHL’s Field Data Collection and Analysis Branch.

DamBot Displays New Robotic Arm | The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) hosted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Structural Engineering and Technology Symposium, which included technology displays from ERDC’s research laboratories, USACE centers of expertise, and USACE Districts and Divisions. Among the displays was the appearance of DamBot, a robotic system developed by ERDC that takes the human element out of the dangerous but necessary task of assessing and inspecting earth dam outlet works. Learn more about DamBot, and the recent edition of its 17-foot robotic arm developed alongside HDT Global, from Dr. Anton Netchaev, a research scientist with ERDC’s Information Technology Laboratory.

DamBot Displays New Robotic Arm | The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) hosted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Structural Engineering and Technology Symposium, which included technology displays from ERDC’s research laboratories, USACE centers of expertise, and USACE Districts and Divisions. Among the displays was the appearance of DamBot, a robotic system developed by ERDC that takes the human element out of the dangerous but necessary task of assessing and inspecting earth dam outlet works. Learn more about DamBot, and the recent edition of its 17-foot robotic arm developed alongside HDT Global, from Dr. Anton Netchaev, a research scientist with ERDC’s Information Technology Laboratory.

The Program for Advanced Materials and Substances of Emerging Environmental Concern (AMSEEC) is actively engaged in research to better characterize the presence and potential effects of substances in the environment. Understanding how substances are transformed and move through the environment and how these substances interact with and affect organisms provides the basis for characterizing risk, or the likelihood that the substance will cause environmental harm. Accurately characterizing risk is critical to making informed decisions as to what steps can be taken to reduce or eliminate the potential for environmental harm, whether it’s guidance for how a substance is generated and used, or development and application of technologies for the efficient capture and removal of the substance from the environment. For more information on the AMSEEC Program, go to https://amseec.el.erdc.dren.mil/.

The Program for Advanced Materials and Substances of Emerging Environmental Concern (AMSEEC) is a multi-laboratory collaborative of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) that is focused on developing timely, proactive responses to emerging environmental issues related to the development and application of advanced materials or other substances and delivery of cost-effective, comprehensive solutions. Substances and materials of emerging environmental concern are characterized by a perceived or real threat to human health or the environment. These materials have new or changing toxicity values and new or changing human health and environmental regulatory standards. Environmental concerns may also emerge due to the development and application of new materials, or new applications of existing materials or substances, and the resulting potential for environmental and/or human health impacts. For more information on the program, go to https://amseec.el.erdc.dren.mil/.

ERDC’s expertise and capabilities in detecting and measuring substances in the environment are foundational to the Program for Advanced Materials and Substances of Emerging Environmental Concern (AMSEEC). A thorough understanding of the presence, form and amount of substances in the environment is critical to effects assessment, exposure assessment, and risk assessment and management. ERDC is at the forefront of research and development to support ultralow detection limits. Watch to learn more about this interdisciplinary effort. For more information on the AMSEEC Program, go to https://amseec.el.erdc.dren.mil/.

ERDC has critical expertise, facilities and capabilities to characterize the potential effects of chemicals and other materials on the environment. The Program for Advanced Materials and Substances of Emerging Environmental Concern (AMSEEC) has pillars for Analysis and Exposure Assessment that inform how, and in what form, organisms are likely to come in contact with a chemical. Researchers can then use this information to characterize how organisms interact with, and are ultimately affected by, a chemical or substance, a process also known as effects assessment. For more information on the AMSEEC Program, go to https://amseec.el.erdc.dren.mil/.

The Program for Advanced Materials and Substances of Emerging Environmental Concern (AMSEEC) has a dedicated pillar for exposure assessment that characterizes how substances move and are transformed in the environment. Having an accurate understanding of exposure is critical to characterizing risk, the likelihood that a substance will cause harm, as well as informing decisions on to how to best manage that risk. As materials move through the environment, they may bind to natural substances, undergo bio-geochemical transformation, or be taken up into the tissues of organisms and enter the food chain, which may result in ecological and human health effects. With its in-house expertise and state-of-the-science facilities, ERDC is uniquely positioned to develop and apply models that predict how novel materials move in the environment and where they will end up. For more information on the AMSEEC Program, go to https://amseec.el.erdc.dren.mil/.

Since its inception in 2010, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature® (EWN) initiative has made significant progress in developing and applying practical methods that demonstrate the benefits of an ecosystem approach to infrastructure development and operations. As a result, EWN features are increasingly being considered as an important component of coastal flood protection and dredged material management strategies. As the incorporation of Natural and Nature-Based Features in USACE projects has become more frequent, the need to accurately and efficiently model and test project designs has also increased. However, hydrodynamic numerical modeling of these features can be a time-consuming process, with limited guidance available on how to execute this workflow. To solve this challenge, researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center have developed the EWN Modeling Toolkit, a series of tools that enable more timely and accurate modeling of EWN features.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) research and development community is guided by the USACE R&D Strategy that was released in November 2021. This strategy, broken down into 10 priorities, drives a strategic collaborative endeavor that uses innovative solutions to save time, money and effort in addressing generational problems. The strategy charges USACE divisions, districts and centers to facilitate a whole-of-government approach to tomorrow’s challenges. “In the Corps of Engineers, we will need our partners in academia, in industry, other government agencies and even internationally to get this bold new strategy accomplished,” said Dr. David Pittman, Director of R&D for USACE and Director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. “This initiative will enhance the USACE response to future disasters, conflicts, the environment and energy efficiency demands.” To view and download the USACE R&D Strategy, visit https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16021coll11/id/5457.

The Wetlands Regulatory Assistance Program (WRAP) is a research and development program which connects the power of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to the people, policies, and practices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Regulatory Program. Through the multi-disciplinary expertise of ERDC's seven laboratories, WRAP provides solutions to the unique science, engineering, and technical challenges of the USACE Regulatory Program by developing products and tools to accelerate, revolutionize, and enhance Regulatory decision-making. WRAP provides technical and technological support in seven focus areas, including: Wetland Delineation Science, Stream Sciences, Mitigation Science, Assessment Methodologies, the National Wetland Plant List, Technology Transfer, and Training. Through the development of innovative tools, technologies, and methodologies, WRAP accelerates permitting timelines and programmatic efficiencies with these rapid, user-friendly decision-making tools, and transfers those technologies to USACE Regulators, Federal and State partners, and the public through tech transfer opportunities, public outreach, and training. WRAP also reduces decision risk and promotes transparent, consistent, predictable, repeatable, and reliable decisions by injecting science into the decision-making process and providing ongoing, rapid-response technical support in all components and stages of the permitting process.

The Wetlands Regulatory Assistance Program (WRAP) is a research and development program which connects the power of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to the people, policies, and practices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Regulatory Program. Through the multi-disciplinary expertise of ERDC's seven laboratories, WRAP provides solutions to the unique science, engineering, and technical challenges of the USACE Regulatory Program by developing products and tools to accelerate, revolutionize, and enhance Regulatory decision-making. WRAP provides technical and technological support in seven focus areas, including: Wetland Delineation Science, Stream Sciences, Mitigation Science, Assessment Methodologies, the National Wetland Plant List, Technology Transfer, and Training. Through the development of innovative tools, technologies, and methodologies, WRAP accelerates permitting timelines and programmatic efficiencies with these rapid, user-friendly decision-making tools, and transfers those technologies to USACE Regulators, Federal and State partners, and the public through tech transfer opportunities, public outreach, and training. WRAP also reduces decision risk and promotes transparent, consistent, predictable, repeatable, and reliable decisions by injecting science into the decision-making process and providing ongoing, rapid-response technical support in all components and stages of the permitting process.

Our pavement infrastructure is a critical national asset that impacts military mobility, the transport of goods, and personal travel. However, current pavements do not provide the desired durability, requiring frequent maintenance resulting in a high logistical burden and elevated carbon footprint. For the U.S. military, which demands strong pavements that can support its heavy vehicles and aircraft, the high volume of repairs means heavy machinery and repair materials must regularly be moved to far-flung locations. Responding to this need, a partnership between the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of Illinois’s Center for Transportation Research seeks to use novel electron beam accelerator technology to create more durable pavements. The unique collaboration combines Fermi Lab’s deep knowledge in particle acceleration science and technology with ERDC’s extensive expertise in military pavement research dating back to World War II. This effort will dramatically improve pavement strength, toughness and service time, potentially saving the Department of Defense hundreds of millions of dollars, while also reducing the pavement industry’s large carbon footprint.

The Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), in Hanover New Hampshire, facilitated the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement as they performed in situ burn testing for a new system developed by Elastec for improving the efficiency of burning oil spilled in water. CRREL is one of the only federal facilities which can do controlled burns like this. CRREL’s expertise, equipment, and permitting allows them to safely conduct these experiments in a controlled environment in hopes that CRREL can help improve the efficiency of these systems.