CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – 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.
During the visit, CERL Director Dr. Andrew Nelson provided an overview of the laboratory’s mission and how researchers work to execute it. Lt. Gen. Spellmon also visited and learned about CERL’s Paint Technology Center, Triaxial Earthquake, Shock Simulator, 3D printing and robotics for engineer operations.
CERL is a premier federal facility that develops technologies to provide high-quality facilities and realistic training lands to the Department of Defense. Its highly interdisciplinary workforce includes approximately 220 federal employees and 80 contract personnel with an annual operating budget exceeding $80 million. CERL’s research areas include sustainable installations, military ranges and lands, resilient facilities and infrastructure, smart sustainable materials, installation decision support and urban and stability operations.
On his visit, Spellmon noted how important CERL is to the nation, stating that CERL and its research and development is incredibly valuable.
“We say our vision in the Army Corps of Engineers is to engineer solutions for our nation’s toughest challenges,” Spellmon said. “If you just look at what’s happening today in the environment that we work in and we build in, we don’t always have good construction solutions, and that’s the value of places like CERL. We can come here and get the science, the data and the research and development that is going to inform the important work ahead.”