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  • May

    The screenshot illustrates the May 22 debut of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered (ERDC-SEIR) model on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website. The ERDC-SEIR is one of 16 models featured on the CDC’s COVID-19 model ensemble website, and the ERDC COVID-19 Modeling and Analysis Team will continue to provide results to the CDC going forward.

    ERDC COVID-19 model debuts on CDC website

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) COVID-19 Modeling and Analysis Team (C-MAT) developed a COVID-19 model that debuted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, May 22. The ERDC model, also referred to as the ERDC-SEIR (Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered) model, is one of 16 models featured on the CDC’s COVID-19 model ensemble website.
  • The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Team developed a three-step process for assessing regionally adjusted COVID-19 outcomes in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

    ERDC researchers model COVID-19 for the Nation

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – When the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Dr. Brandon Lafferty sleeps these days, he dreams about predictive models. That’s because since mid-March, Lafferty, a researcher from the ERDC Environmental Laboratory, has been helping lead ERDC’s Modelling and Simulation Team develop the ERDC Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered ⸺ or SEIR ⸺ model for COVID-19, and it’s an intense effort.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center 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 Directorate of Human Capital. 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 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 Directorate of Human Capital Director Dr. Gary Anderton. Corps division and district participants partner with ERDC subject matter experts to apply and implement technical solutions.

    Tulsa District Natural Resource Specialist Knight selected for ERDC University

    VICKSBURG, Miss. — After learning that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) manages outdoor recreation at more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states, a career as a USACE outdoor recreation planner appealed to Mississippi native Jason Knight. Now with the USACE Tulsa District, the natural resource specialist is a participant in the 2020 Engineer Research and Development Center University (ERDC U).
  • Dr. Tim Rushing of the Geotechnical and Structures Lab at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center was recently honored with the 2020 Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department’s Distinguished Fellow Award at his alma mater, the University of Alabama.

    ERDC researcher awarded top honor from University of Alabama

    Dr. Tim Rushing of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has earned one of the top awards at the University of Alabama — the 2020 Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department Distinguished Fellow Award.
  • Lacey Duckworth and Jason King of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Information Technology Laboratory chat at the kickoff for the 2019 Directorate of Human Capital Mentoring Program. The program, which began in 2016, focuses on talent development of ERDC employees.

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s mentoring program develops leaders while fostering friendships

    For nearly five years, leadership from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Directorate of Human Capital has focused on talent development with the ERDC mentoring program. For Pam Simpson, the ERDC training program coordinator, the key to being successful in the workplace is a strong foundation; and she credits hers to a good mentor who saw her potential more than three decades ago.  So, when the ERDC Directorate of Human Capital announced their plans for a mentoring program, Simpson was one of the first to volunteer. 
  • Conceptual rendering of four of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Modular Assembly Shelter Kits. ERDC’s Justine Yu and Tanner Wood were awarded a patent for the design.

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Researchers awarded unique shelter patent

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- An inventive kit that shortens logistics, simplifies on-site construction and
  • Louisville District Geologist David Robison, far left, toured the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory’s Concrete Materials Lab on the Vicksburg, Miss., campus of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. He will work with a GSL mentor during his six-month ERDC University session. Robison was joined by his fellow ERDC-U selectees on four laboratory tours on the 700-acre campus during kickoff week activities the first week of March.

    Seattle District Engineer Ian Pumo selected for Army Engineer and Research Development Center University

    Seattle District civil engineer Ian Pumo was interested in pursuing a master’s degree and viewed opportunities offered through the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center University as “a great way to get a taste of that and see what (he) might like to pursue in grad school.”
  • Louisville District Geologist David Robison, far left, toured the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory’s Concrete Materials Lab on the Vicksburg, Miss., campus of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. He will work with a GSL mentor during his six-month ERDC University session. Robison was joined by his fellow ERDC-U selectees on four laboratory tours on the 700-acre campus during kickoff week activities the first week of March.

    Louisville District Geologist Selected for Engineer Research and Development Center University

    A developmental assignment and subsequent deployment delayed his Army Engineer Research and Development Center University application, but Louisville District geologist David Robison was selected for the class of 2020 and is now working with his mentors to develop tools and methods for possible incorporation into regular levee inspection and risk assessment programs.   
  • Kelly Irvin of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center uses augmented reality technology developed in the Information Technology Laboratory to inspect a mock boiler room. The software is being used across the nation to assess potential sites for COVID-19 alternate care facilities, while limiting the number of people who have to physically examine the facilities.

    ERDC delivers augmented reality solutions in the fight against COVID-19

    Scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are using augmented reality technology to assist peers throughout the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in virtually conducting site assessments of alternate care facilities (ACFs) across the country. Augmented reality technology, developed by researchers at the ERDC Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), offers a way for the USACE to assess potential ACF locations while assisting with social distancing and safety considerations.  
  • St. Paul District Biologist Aaron McFarlane, far right, toured the Vicksburg National Military Park with ERDC Historian Terry Winschel, left, and other district selectees during kickoff week activities for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center University. He will work with Environmental Laboratory mentors during his six-month session. In addition to the park, McFarlane toured the four laboratories on ERDC’s 700-acre campus during the first week of March.

    St. Paul District Biologist Aaron McFarlane selected for Engineer Research and Development Center University program

    Professional networking opportunities stirred U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) St. Paul District Biologist Aaron McFarlane’s interest in applying for the U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) University, where he is now participating in a six-month session to expand his environmental expertise.

  • April

    Ryan James, a digging contractor, breaks through into the back of the gravel room for the first time from the new back crosscut in the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory's Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska. The excavation was part of the phase four expansion of the permafrost tunnel, which added a new 300-foot tunnel and improved 200 feet of the pre-existing tunnel.

    Discovering the Mural in Permafrost

    In the forests of Fox, Alaska, carved into a frozen hillside is a unique manmade 350-meter long research tunnel. Situated on a 16-acre parcel near the confluence of Goldstream and Glenn Creeks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility was excavated deep into a large block of discontinuous permafrost that has been going through several recent periods of expansion. The expansion project began back in 2011, taking advantage of the digging seasons when the ground is at its coldest, with an overall project goal of expanding the tunnel facility to better support ongoing and growing research and engineering needs. The most recent expansion effort, this year, has added 300-feet of new tunnel, improved 200 feet of the existing tunnel and added links between the old and new tunnel sections at several locations, to include at an interface between subsurface bedrock and overlying gravels.
  • The U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Justin Wilkens, a research biologist with the Environmental Laboratory, checks the waypoints using the SubSeaSail’s G6 navigation software on his laptop. The unmanned surface vessel was taken to Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for a demonstration by Wilkens and a team of ERDC-EL research biologists, including Dr. Guilherme Lotufo and Dr. Mark Ballentine. The USV gathered data indicating the presence of munitions constituents from unexploded underwater ordnance, a problem at sites around the world. Chris Todter, far left, a SubSeaSail partner, and Tom Goddard, far right, SubSeaSail Fabrication and Testing, are also visible in the photo.

    Team successfully tests new unmanned autonomous surface vessel

    Anxious at first about the specter of possible software glitches that would derail the project, the U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Justin Wilkens, a research biologist with the Environmental Laboratory, soon confirmed that everything was functioning well. He and a team of other EL research biologists, including Dr. Guilherme Lotufo and Dr. Mark Ballentine, visited Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for five days in February to demonstrate a new unmanned autonomous surface vessel, or USV.
  • ERDC’s Directorate of Public Works staff work to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center prototypes makeshift hospital rooms

    The Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to construct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. Recently, Semonite called on the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Develeopment Center in Vicksburg to ask for help in accomplishing that mission.

  • March

    Dr. Cody Gray congratulates Dr. Linda Nelson as she receives the President’s Award from the Aquatic Plant Management Society in 2015 for her dedication to the organization over the course of her career. Nelson retired from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, February 28, 2020, wearing three hats: associate technical director for Civil Works, Environmental Engineering and Sciences, and program manager for the Aquatic Nuisance Species Research and the Aquatic Plant Control Research Programs.

    Career opportunities made Corps a compelling place for Nelson

    Looking back on her 35-year career, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Dr. Linda Nelson thinks the opportunities were so plentiful, she couldn’t resist staying with the Corps. The associate technical director for Civil Works, Environmental Engineering and Sciences, wore three hats until she retired, February 28, 2020, serving also as program manager for the Aquatic Nuisance Species Research and the Aquatic Plant Control Research Programs.
  • A Civil Works titan retires from 40-year research career with the Corps

    A Civil Works titan retires from 40-year research career with the Corps

    A noteworthy but humble figure exited the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory for the last time, February 28, 2020. Dr. Alfred Cofrancesco, Jr. retired from his position as senior scientific technical manager and director of the Civil Works environmental research area for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Students from the The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, tour CRREL’s main laboratory on the last day of the course, “Hot Times in the Cold Regions Lab,” February 24, 2020. The lab visit allowed the students to see the inner workings of the facility, the types of research and the different engineering capabilities that allow CRREL to stand at the forefront of cold regions research and engineering.

    CRREL Site Visit

    Students from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program at Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, visited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, also located in Hanover, February 24, 2020. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute believes that regardless of age, learning never stops. This winter, they offered the course “Hot Topics at the Cold Regions Lab,” giving 46 students — made up of mostly retired professionals from a variety of backgrounds — the opportunity to hear from CRREL scientists and engineers about the type of work they do for laboratory and the ERDC.
  • Daniel Hickman, a civil engineering technician and member of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Team, sets up equipment for a UAS flight over a landslide at the Vicksburg National Military Park

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center assists in mudslide assessment

    A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center assisted the Vicksburg National Military Park in assessing landslides and erosion on the grounds.
  • The Information Technology Laboratory’s newest facility will make you feel like you’ve traveled forward in time. The Dynamic Immersive Virtual Environment (DIVE) laboratory allows researchers to test and develop solutions for the Department of Defense using leading augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) gear. The rise of this technology has already changed the way we work and learn, and it will now be used to allow Army engineers, scientists, and stakeholders to immerse themselves in true scale, 3D environments.

    Want a glimpse of the future? Look no further than ITL’s new DIVE laboratory.

    The newest facility at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) will make you feel like you’ve traveled forward in time. The Dynamic Immersive Virtual Environment (DIVE) laboratory allows researchers to test and develop solutions for the Department of Defense (DoD) using leading augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) gear. The rise of this technology has already changed the way we work and learn, and it will now be used to allow Army engineers, scientists, and stakeholders to immerse themselves in true scale, 3D environments.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center security guards review operations during active shooter drills at the Department of the Army Security Guards Mobile Training Team Train-the-Trainer Course.

    Train-the-trainer course challenges U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center security guards

    Every day, thousands of U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center employees drive through the gates to work and are greeted by members of the ERDC security force. However, these men and women are not there just to check employee credentials or sign-in visitors — they have a much more critical role. Their job is to maintain the safety and security for everyone on each ERDC installation.

  • February

    LaKenya Walker and Cameron Thomas are winners of the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Modern Day Technology Leaders.

    Two ERDC researchers earn Black Engineer of the Year awards

    At the office, LaKenya Walker spends her time using high-performance computing to help the military better understand its weapon systems. Cameron Thomas works just a few buildings away as an expert in explosive weapons effects. Though their jobs are a bit different, the two U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center employees now have something very special in common—they are both winners of the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) for Modern Day Technology Leaders.