VICKSBURG, Miss. – Participants from eight U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Districts graduated from ERDC University (ERDC-U) in September, following project presentations to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) senior leaders.
Now in its ninth year, ERDC-U pairs Corps division and district participants with relevant laboratory mentors for six-month research projects.
Following opening congratulatory remarks by ERDC’s Antisa Webb and Patricia Sullivan, the event featured slide presentations by graduates Elliot Bignell, Far East District Project Manager; Alexander Bredikhin, Pittsburgh District Risk Manager for Megaprojects; Aaron Damrill, Detroit District Supervisory Biologist; Jake Edwards, Jacksonville District Biologist; John McEnery, St. Louis District Senior Hydraulic Engineer; Christopher Peery, Walla Walla District Senior Fish Biology; Richard Piaskowski, Portland District Fish Biologist; and Meg Zuercher, Omaha District Hydraulic Engineer.
“The ERDC-U program gave me an opportunity to establish a new relationship with David Smith and his lab which we plan to continue,” said Piaskowski. “After further development, these projects have the potential to be highly impactful. There are numerous cost-effective fish passage initiatives planned for the dams, making it exciting to explore ways to scale these solutions efficiently.”
ERDC-U program manager Antisa Webb, chief of the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT), Technology, Knowledge and Outreach (TKO) Division, along with ERDC Deputy Director Ms. Patricia Sullivan, presented graduation diplomas. Webb followed with certificates of appreciation for mentors and researchers who guided the participants’ projects as subject-matter experts from ERDC’s Environmental, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratories located on the Vicksburg, Mississippi, campus, as well as the Geospatial Research Laboratory located in Arlington, Virginia.
Dr. Gary Anderton of the ERDC Directorate of Human Capital praised the graduates for contributing to the future of the Corps’ technical expertise and for sharing their knowledge and experiences to support their districts, while also fostering a collaborative partnership with ERDC.
The center’s Human Capital Office serves as a co-sponsor of ERDC University.
Applications will be open in October for the 2025 ERDC-U session for Corps division and district team members. Selectees will be paired with mentors at one or more of ERDC’s seven laboratories to apply and implement technical solutions during this six-month program. ERDC funds the costs of labor or travel with the district covering the participant’s other choice.
For more information on ERDC-U visit: https://wiki.erdc.dren.mil/ERDC_University