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  • May

    Dr. David Pittman, director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and director of research and development (R&D) and chief scientist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), addresses participants at the ERDC’s Research and Development 2022 (RD22) workshop in Vicksburg, Mississippi, April 26, 2022.

    RD22 workshop addresses R&D challenges, emphasizes strategic collaboration

    Scientists and engineers from across the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) participated in the organization’s Research and Development 2022 (RD22) workshop and symposium, April 26-28. The event was held at the Vicksburg, Mississippi, main campus and was broadcast virtually over eight time zones with more than 600 attendees.
  • Jenny Laird and Lauren May, research biologists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, and Katrina Burch, an associate technical director of the ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, exhibit at the Army Engineer Association Engineer Regimental Week industry exhibit in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, April 24-28, 2022. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Annette Kirklin)

    ERDC synergizes at the Army Engineer Association industry exhibit

    From April 24 to 28, a team of U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) representatives attended the exhibit portion of the Army Engineer Association (AEA) Regimental Week at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

  • April

    Eighteenmile Creek

    ERDC expertise helps determine origin of PCBs at Eighteenmile Creek

    VICKSBURG, Miss. — The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) conducts research on everything from bats to explosives, but customers frequently call upon ERDC for technical expertise as well.
  • Hydrophytic vegetation, or wetland vegetation, are those communities of plants occurring in areas that are inundated or saturated long enough to influence the plants’ occurrence. Hydrophytic vegetation is one of three factors addressed using the Automated Wetland Determination Data Sheets during the collection and analysis of wetland delineations across the nation. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    New USACE tools improve wetland delineation accuracy and efficiency

    Scientists with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory (ERDC-EL) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Detroit District’s Regulatory staff are streamlining wetland delineation by developing Automated Wetland Determination Data Sheets (ADS).
  • Dr. David Pittman, director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and chief scientist and director of research and development for USACE, provides remarks April 5, 2022, to open the inaugural U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operational R&D Workshop at ERDC in Vicksburg, Miss. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    USACE leaders addressed national challenges at Operational R&D Workshop

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) hosted the inaugural U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Operational Research and Development (R&D) workshop at its Vicksburg, Mississippi, headquarters April 5-7.
  • Susan Bailey (left), U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory environmental engineer, Cynthia Banks (center), ERDC Installation Operations Command (IOC) environmental protection specialist and Bobby McComas (right), IOC chemical engineer, speak about Earth Day to fourth grade students April 20, 2022, at Bowmar Avenue Elementary School in Vicksburg, Miss. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    ERDC team delivers annual Earth Day message to local students

    On April 20, a group from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Installation Operations Command (IOC) and Environmental Laboratory celebrated Earth Day with fourth grade students from Bowmar Avenue Elementary School in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The U.S. Army’s theme for Earth Day this year is “A Partnership for the Planet.”
  • Students at the 2021 GEMS II Forward Center camp learn about various STEM topics, including robotics. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    ERDC announces dates for 2022 GEMS Camps

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will host the Gains in Education of Math and Science (GEMS) this summer in Vicksburg, Miss. GEMS, which is sponsored by Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP), exposes 6th – 12th grade students to various aspects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and encourages them to explore STEM careers.
  • Leaders from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) visited Mississippi State University (MSU) April 14, 2022 for ERDC Day. The event consisted of classroom presentations, an exhibit/student intern showcase and a panel to link MSU students to ERDC. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    ERDC Day at MSU highlights economic development and collaborative partnerships

    On April 14, a team of U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) leaders visited Mississippi State University (MSU). The event — designated as ERDC Day — consisted of classroom presentations, an exhibit/student intern showcase and a public affairs panel to link MSU students to ERDC.
  • CHL's Keith Flowers is sworn in as president of the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

    ERDC’s Flowers passionate about community involvement

    Keith Flowers, the deputy director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), is passionate about getting involved in the community he calls home.
  • Dr. Andrew Nelson, director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), gives Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General and 55th Chief of Engineers, an overview of CERL's research projects.

    Construction Engineering Research Laboratory welcomes USACE commanding general for meeting and facility tour

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) recently welcomed Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General and 55th Chief of Engineers, for a meeting at CERL’s facilities in Champaign, Ill.
  • Marin Blaisdell, a materials engineer for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, skates across the ice during her performance at the 2022 U.S. Adult Figure Skating National Championships held in Newark, Delaware, April 6-9, 2022.

    ERDC Engineer Studies, Dances on Ice

    Passion is a key component to success, whether that be for work, a hobby or a sport. In the workplace, passion has motivated Marin Blaisdell to be a successful materials engineer for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). But a separate passion has driven her to compete in figure skating at the national level. Blaisdell knows the importance of dedication and precision, whether she is in Anchorage, Alaska, performing CRREL strength tests on snow patches used for rapid airfield crater damage repair, or perfecting a double salchow-single loop-double loop; she knows it takes perseverance to achieve her best.
  • Nanotechnology is helping to improve many technology and industry sectors, including medicine. (Credit: Shutterstock.com)

    ERDC researchers analyze resilience in nanotechnology supply chains

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are analyzing the need for increased resilience in nanotechnology supply chains.
  • Boy Scouts with the Andrew Jackson Council visited laboratories on the Vicksburg, Mississippi, campus of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center April 1-2, 2022, for a weekend campout and hands-on tour of the research and technology being developed on station.

    Local Boy Scouts camp out, tour ERDC

    A Vicksburg Boy Scout troop recently visited the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Waterways Experiment Station for a weekend campout and a hands-on look at some of the center’s latest and greatest technology and research.
  • Members of the U.S. Air Force 773 Civilian Engineering Squadron utilize a Vermeer RTX 550 trencher, along with a John Deere 410G Backhoe, to remove several tree stumps and produce a relatively straight-line path away from the loop road in which the sensing cable was buried. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory successfully demonstrated groundbreaking technology to detect airborne targets during a multi-service exercise

    New Technology Successfully Demonstrated During Arctic Exercise

    During a multi-service exercise, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) successfully demonstrated a groundbreaking technology to detect airborne targets.
  • The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) engages CRREL’s wave tank while testing an oil slick measuring device designed by the American University of Beirut for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

    Making Waves: ERDC studies oil spill cleanup techniques

    In the event of an oil spill in the ocean, such as an oil tanker tipping over, its container getting breached or an oil rig’s pipeline leaking, immediate response for cleanup is needed. However, at times, it can be difficult to determine the best means of effective oil-spill cleanup.
  • The aerial drone is a new means of capturing these measurements, and the U.S. Coast Guard has also deployed traditional ground sensors to compare with the readings from the aerial drone. CRREL is one of the few federal agencies with the knowledge, permissions, licenses and facilities to accommodate in situ burns.

    CRREL tests new ways to measure smoke density

    CRREL partners with the U.S. Coast Guard's Research and Development Center and the Environmental Protection Agency to test an aerial drone to determine how effective the device is for measuring air quality and environmental impact of burning oil on water. The aerial drone is a new means of capturing these measurements, and CRREL is one of the few federal agencies with the knowledge, permissions, licenses, and facilities to accommodate in situ burns.
  • A cold-start battery being tested by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) is attached to a simulated Stryker engine starter, which sits inside one a cold room inside CRREL’s Cold Room Complex, which consists of 26 refrigerated rooms, each varying in size and in other capabilities, allowing for a variety of environmentally controlled experimentation at low temperatures. These laboratory-grade rooms can maintain temperatures from −30°C to over 43°C (−22°F to 110°F), with an additional standalone unit extending to −40°C (−40°F). The CRREL-designed battery is intended for use with U.S. military Stryker vehicles to ensure they are able to consistently start even in the most extreme cold environments.

    A Cold Start: ERDC tests Stryker batteries in frigid temps

    Many people living in northern regions of the United States have experienced getting in a car on a cold, winter morning, turning the key in the ignition and having the engine starter sputter, but not start. This relatable inconvenience is one that many people have dealt with. However, for U.S. military service members called to action in regions such as northern Alaska, there is no time to deal with a vehicle that won’t start in the extreme cold temperatures. This is a dilemma that engineers like Kathryn Trubac, a research general engineer for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), are working to resolve.

  • March

    Sarah Drinkard and Khania Minor, both seniors at Warren Central High School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, meet with top female leadership at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) on March 21, 2022 after a live panel discussion. Drinkard and Minor shadowed the team that facilitated the live, online broadcast featuring ERDC Commander Col. Teresa Schlosser, ERDC Deputy Director Dr. Beth Fleming and ERDC Associate Director Pat Sullivan.

    Local students participate, tune in for live panel featuring ERDC female leaders

    Students from across the Vicksburg-Warren School District sent in questions and joined the conversation during the most recent segment of ERDC Live, a social media broadcast of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). The theme of the episode, which aired on March 21, was “Women in Innovation: Leading a Better Tomorrow.” Panelists were ERDC Deputy Director Dr. Beth Fleming, ERDC Associate Director Pat Sullivan and ERDC Commander Col. Teresa Schlosser.
  • Dr. Beth Fleming, deputy director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) gives an overview of core competencies and research priorities at the orientation for ERDC University, which was held on the Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi, March 1-2.

    2022 ERDC University participants introduced to world-class research

    Tours of four world-class laboratories mingled with expert briefings highlighted the orientation session for ERDC University, an outreach program of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). This year, selectees came from five U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) districts, who visited ERDC’s campus in Vicksburg, Mississippi, March 1-2.

  • Construction Engineering Research Laboratory welcomes Defense Coalition of Campaign for meeting, facility tour

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Construction Engineering Laboratory (CERL) recently welcomed the Defense Coalition of Champaign County (DC3) for a meeting at CERL’s facilities in Champaign, Ill.