US Army Corps of Engineers
Engineer Research and Development Center Website

Seabrook / Media / News Stories

  • September

    Example of a computer simulation used by the robotics teams of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Sensor Integration Branch in the ERDC’s Information Technology Laboratory and the Environmental Processes Branch in the ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams were unable to complete real-world testing on their robots prompting them to capitalize on computer simulation software capabilities to meet mission requirements.

    Using virtual solutions for robotic testing during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are accustomed to finding unique and innovative approaches to solving today’s most challenging engineering problems. The current COVID-19 environment presented new obstacles for the Sensor Integration Branch (SIB) in the ERDC’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) and Environmental Processes Branch (CNE) in the ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, prompting the robotics group to capitalize on simulation software capabilities to meet mission requirements.
  • A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are key members of the collaborative During Nearshore Event Experiment, or DUNEX, conducted on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to study coastal processes associated with hurricanes, tropical storms and powerful nor’easters. The team is studying modern coastal features with a long-term perspective, focusing on the relationship with quantifiable coastal features and storm response. Team members include, Davin Wallace from USM, Eve Eisemann from ERDC, Erin Miller, Shara Gremillion and Bill Funderburk, all from USM.

    ERDC researchers participate in the During Nearshore Event Experiment to study coastal storm impacts

    As storms like Hurricane Laura continue to threaten our coasts with greater frequency and ferocity, researchers from across the country have joined a collaborative research effort to better understand these extreme events and improve coastal resilience.
  • A new podcast series tells the stories of how, over the last 10 years, a growing international community of practitioners, scientists, engineers, and researchers across many disciplines and organizations are working together to combine natural and engineering systems to solve problems and diversify infrastructure value by applying the principles and practices of Engineering With Nature®.

    Using natural infrastructure to increase resilience for military installations

    In this episode of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, guest Brig. Gen. Patrice Melancon, executive director of the Program Management Office, Tyndall Air Force Base, U.S. Air Force, shares how she and her team are incorporating the principles and practices of Engineering With Nature into the Air Force’s Installation of the Future initiative.
  • A juvenile snowy egret observed in nests on the Horseshoe Bend Island during nesting season.

    Using natural forces, sediment to restore coastal marsh habitat

    In this episode of the Engineering With Nature® Podcast, guest Jeff Corbino, environmental resources specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, shares several examples of Engineering With Nature (EWN) to restore coastal marsh habitat as a key part of the district’s navigation mission.
  • Shea Hammond, a member of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory’s (EL) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) team, monitors a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data-collecting aircraft as it begins its survey of a section of the Bayou Pierre watershed near Vicksburg, Mississippi. Researchers from the ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory recently collaborated with the EL UAS team for a project to develop a rapid watershed assessment approach using the remote sensing technology.

    ERDC researchers developing low-cost, rapid watershed assessment

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District to develop and test a low-cost, rapid watershed assessment using remote sensing technology to evaluate problems associated with watershed instability including erosion, sedimentation, flooding and environmental degradation.

  • August

    Dr. Jed Eberly, a former research microbiologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, led a team in the invention of “DNA-Based Testing for Environmental Contamination,” a process that earned a patent in February 2020.

    ERDC environmental experts awarded patent for improving soil contamination testing

    Testing soil for contaminants on military bases rather than sending samples to a laboratory has produced speedier, cost-saving results for researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environment Laboratory (EL). The team received a U.S. Patent this year for their innovative process “DNA-Based Testing for Environmental Contamination.”
  • Data collection at a wetland restoration site that is providing coastal resilience and environmental valuein San Francisco Bay, CA

    USACE launches new podcast series “Engineering With Nature”

    A new podcast series tells the stories of how, over the last 10 years, a growing international community of practitioners, scientists, engineers, and researchers across many disciplines and organizations are working together to combine natural and engineering systems to solve problems and diversify infrastructure value by applying the principles and practices of Engineering With Nature®.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) researchers stage a mobile dissolved air flotation system at Chautauqua Lake, New York, ahead of the Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System 2020 research demonstration. The ERDC and scientists from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are collaborating with industry partners to study harmful algal bloom mitigation technology in Chautauqua Lake from Aug. 19 through Sept. 4.

    ERDC, New York State research algal bloom mitigation in Chautauqua Lake

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and scientists from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are collaborating with industry partners to study harmful algal bloom (HAB) mitigation technology in Chautauqua Lake, New York, from Aug. 19 through Sept. 4.
  • The type of automated shuttles that will be used in a Smart Transportation Testbed, a yearlong pilot program to plan, develop, demonstrate and employ automated vehicle (AV) technologies, is pictured. The testbed project, which will start in Fort Carson, Colorado, in September 2020, is a project managed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to determine how AV technology can help the military reduce transportation costs, improve public safety and enable faster delivery of services.

    Smart Transportation Testbed pilot program underway in Colorado

    The Smart Transportation Testbed, a yearlong pilot program to plan, develop, demonstrate and employ automated vehicle (AV) technologies, is currently underway at Fort Carson, Colorado. The project, managed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), is designed to determine how AV technology can help the military reduce transportation costs, improve public safety and enable faster delivery of services.
  • A low light level camera inside the bell jar facility took this photograph during a test at Martian surface pressures and temperature. In the center is a small dewar of water being held at just above freezing. Water vapor from this pool quickly freezes on surrounding equipment. These features closely resemble what is seen in terrestrial Rodriguez wells, improving confidence in the experiment design.

    ERDC supports NASA’s mission to Mars

    In the 1960s during the Cold War, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) designed a device, commonly referred to as a Rodriguez well, or Rodwell, to harvest water under the ice in Greenland and Antarctica to sustain U.S. facilities by providing water for drinking, hygiene and other needs. Presently, NASA is working with CRREL to assess whether that same technology can provide water for human-inhabited research stations on Mars.
  • Harmful algal blooms (HABs) floating on the water surface near the middle of Lake Okeechobee, Fla. HABs are a challenging problem that has impacted the environment and economy across the Nation. Currently, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center researchers and their partners are studying and improving a method for removing and disposing of blue-green algae from the waterways.

    ERDC overcomes challenges in harmful algal bloom removal research

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) continued its quest to tackle the challenging problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in our nation’s waterways with a removal demonstration in Florida in July 2020. The ERDC research team and collaborators from engineering firm AECOM and the University of Illinois planned and executed the research study on HAB removal at Lake Okeechobee.

  • July

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Commander Col. Teresa Schlosser joins a virtual crowd at the monthly Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce luncheon to share stories about the incredible research happening in Vicksburg.

    ERDC commander speaks to Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce

    Since the Waterways Experiment Station got its start nearly 100 years ago, it has been a major player in its home city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. On July 15, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Commander Col. Teresa Schlosser joined a virtual crowd at the monthly Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce luncheon to share stories about the incredible research happening in Vicksburg.
  • Lulu Edwards, a research engineer in the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, and earned a bachelor’s from Mississippi State University and a master’s from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

    ERDC researchers receive national Women of Color Awards

    From studying how fish can protect Soldiers to supporting tactical military planning, four researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have been honored with Women of Color (WOC) STEM awards — an annual, national-level recognition of significant contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

  • ERDC Contracting Office selected as USACE Center of the Year

    The Excellence in Contracting Awards Program (ECAP) has selected the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Contracting Office as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Center of the Year. The ECAP recognizes the achievements and contributions of the USACE contracting workforce for their continuing and exceptional commitment to the country. The awards honor those who have singularly and collectively fulfilled the USACE acquisitions mission and demonstrated leadership, contracting expertise, professional development and achieved exceptional successes over the past year.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Director Dr. David Pittman, left, congratulates Dr. Ricky Massaro of the Geospatial Research Laboratory in Alexandria, Va., on his U.S. Patent received in February 2020 for his “Method of Processing Full Motion Video Data for Photogrammetric Reconstruction."

    ERDC scientist receives patent for Soldiers’ 3-D terrain support

    Recognizing that accurate and timely terrain models are critical for Soldiers in many areas of the world, scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) invented a cost-efficient method to generate high-resolution 3-D terrain data using existing unmanned platforms.
  • U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Commander Col. Teresa Schlosser, front right, welcomed the five selectees for the 2020 six-month session of ERDC University, sponsored by the Office of Research and Technology Transfer and the Human Capital Office. Participating in kickoff activities March 3-6 were, from left, ERDC U Program Manager and ORTT Technology, Knowledge and Outreach Division Chief Tisa Webb; Civil Engineer Ceyda Polatel, Jacksonville District, assigned to the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory; Natural Resource Specialist Jason Knight, Tulsa District, assigned to the Environmental Laboratory; Cost Civil Engineer Ian Pumo, Seattle District, assigned to EL and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory; Biologist Aaron McFarlane, St. Paul District, assigned to EL; Geologist David Robison, Louisville District, assigned to Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory; and Human Capital Office Director Dr. Gary Anderton. U.S Army Corps of Engineers division and district participants partner with ERDC subject matter experts to apply and implement technical solutions.

    USACE Jacksonville District hydraulic engineer selected for ERDC U

    Although Dr. Ceyda Polatel first heard about the Engineer Research and Development Center University (ERDC U) through a former U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) employee, it wasn’t until she received an email and advice from her professional colleague, ERDC researcher Dr. Chuck Downer that she applied for the program.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering With Nature initiative is hosting Samuel Fielding as a participant in the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program. Since starting in February 2020, Fielding has become involved with several different EWN efforts to quantify the benefits of natural infrastructure and natural and nature-based features.

    Knauss Fellow, Engineering With Nature initiative a perfect match

    To Samuel Fielding, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative seemed like a perfect fit. As a prospective John A. Knauss Marine Fellow, Fielding was searching for a host organization where he could utilize his interdisciplinary education in economics, international relations and biology. His doctorate research was focused on the economics of coastal adaption and the socioeconomics of coastal hazards within flood insurance markets.

  • June

    A Gamma Portable Radar Interferometer and a Robotic Laser Theodolite sit on top of a large pressure ridge near a U.S. Navy ice camp on the Beaufort Sea, March 4, 2020. The Gamma Portable Radar Interferometer continuously measures precise distances from itself to an array of reflectors deployed around the camp and runway. It is able to detect small movements of the reflectors in relation to each other, and can tell researchers how the ice is expanding and contracting. The radar interferometer in an alternate method to accomplish a similar goal, sending out radar pulses that reflect off of various ice surfaces and records the reflected signal.

    ERDC researchers study arctic sea ice

    The U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) collaborated with the U.S. Navy during the annual Sea Ice Dynamics Experiment (SIDEx) from February through March 2020 by predicting potential breaks in sea ice.
  • Employees from across the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attend the USACE unmanned aerial systems training course at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. The training program has been extremely beneficial to the USACE Aviation Program. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    Unmanned aerial system training with Hinds Community College a boost to USACE

    It’s not often that someone is credited with advancing an entire program within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), but Jenny Laird, the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) lead for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL), did just that by establishing the USACE UAS training program at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, in conjunction with the ERDC Graduate Institute.
  • Photo of Dr. Kent Newman.

    ERDC researcher honored by University of Southern Mississippi

    Dr. Kent Newman of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) received a distinguished honor from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) – the 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Arts and Sciences – in the spring of 2020.

News Story Archive