VICKSBURG, Miss. – Researchers from eight U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Districts have been selected for the 2024 session of the Engineer Research and Development Center University (ERDC-U).
Eliot Bignell, a project manager for the Far East District, has been chosen as a participant for this detail program, now in its ninth year.
ERDC-U Program Lead Antisa Webb, who also serves as Chief of the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT), Technology, Knowledge and Outreach (TKO) Division and program co-sponsor, announced the 2024 selectees.
“ERDC-U facilitates collaborations between participants from USACE Divisions and Districts and mentors from relevant laboratories, engaging in six-month research projects aimed at developing technical solutions that benefit their workplaces, the Corps, and the nation,” Webb said.
Col. Heather A. Levy, Far East District Commander, praised Bignell’s selection stating “Considering Mr. Bignell’s exceptional background, leadership skills, and demonstrated ability to work independently in challenging environments, I am confident that he will excel at ERDC University. His technical background in aerospace engineering, combined with his project management experience, makes him an ideal candidate for contributing to the goals of EU.”
While working with subject-matter experts from ERDC’s seven-state of the art laboratories, participants will focus on real-world solutions and develop leadership skills to take back to their home organizations.
A USACE team member for four years, Bignell works as a project manager in the Far East District’s Army, Navy, and Marine Corps Program Branch under the Programs and Project Management Division. Bignell leads teams that oversee $430M worth of projects supporting U.S. Forces Korea, engaging closely with key stakeholders from USACE, USFK, 8th Army, CNFK, SOCKOR , and other U.S. federal agencies.
Bignell’s goals for his ERDC-U session are to “increase ‘my’ knowledge of the science and technology systems that ERDC is working on and diversify ‘my’ technical background within USACE.”
He joined fellow selectees during their orientation session February 27-29, 2024, on the Vicksburg, Mississippi, campus, where they met their mentors and discussed planned projects.
Bignell’s mentor is Associate Technical Director Austin Davis with the Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) located in Arlington, Virginia. GRL is one of the seven laboratories that make up ERDC.
During Bignell’s time with ERDC-U, he will focus on the GRL Office of Technical Directors (OTD), primarily aiming to expand GRL’s involvement in the Civil Works Research and Development Area (CW RDA). Bignell supported GRL’s Basic Research efforts on military programs during the proposal and review stages.
To explore new opportunities for GRL within the CW RDA, he participated in reviewing Civil Works FY26 Work Packages, identifying areas where GRL collaboration could enhance the research. He also worked with researchers to submit several pre-proposals for the FY25 Civil Works RDA R&D Requirement. This effort addressed critical needs at USACE districts and establish a foundation for GRL’s future work in the CW RDA.
“Working with GRL OTD provided a unique perspective into ERDC on the project and program management side of the very technical research that is performed across the organization” said Bignell. Through his experience, Bignell gained valuable insights into ERDC’s projects and program management, interacting with customers, reviewing proposals, defending basic research and creating opportunities for researchers.
Upon completion of ERDC-U, Bignell, along with the seven other selectees, will attend a graduation ceremony on September 10 at the Vicksburg, Mississippi, campus. During the ceremony, Bredikhin will present his extensive research efforts and results from his project titled “Identification of areas of opportunity for implementation of geospatial expertise to the civil works research area.”
The program is co-sponsored by ERDC’s Directorate of Human Capital (DHC) through an application and selection process for the March through August session. Program funding is split between the selectee’s Division or District for choice of labor costs or travel with the other funded by ERDC.
Applications will open in October for the 2025 ERDC-U session. For information on ERDC-U and applications, visit: https://wiki.erdc.dren.mil/ERDC_University.