Aug. 9, 2011
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LONDON — ERDC Director Dr. Jeffery P. Holland has appointed Dr. Russell S. Harmon to replace Dr. Steve Grant as director of the International Research Office (IRO) in London, England.
Harmon joins ERDC from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Army Research Office (ARO). He and Grant, who has returned to the United States, are meeting and sharing information Harmon will need in his new position.
While at the ARL ARO, Harmon managed the terrestrial sciences program, which funds university research for the Army in the areas of terrain properties and characterization, terrestrial processes and dynamics, terrestrial system analysis and modeling and geospatial information science.
"I'm delighted to be joining ERDC after managing an ARO extramural research program that has largely supported the basic research needs of ERDC for the past 18 years. Having worked cooperatively with many ERDC colleagues and interacted with previous IRO directors during this time, I'm quite looking forward to this opportunity to join the ERDC team and facilitate USACE and ERDC outreach to and interactions with the international R&D community," said Harmon.
A geologist who has worked at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Center, and UK Natural Environment Research Council Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Harmon has held faculty positions at Michigan State University and Southern Methodist University. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and National Speleological Society. Presently, he is co-chair of the annual SPIE Defense and Security Symposium Conference on Detection and Remediation of Mines and Minelike Targets.
The position is a one-man show under a support agreement with the U.S. Army Materiel Command's International Technology Center—Atlantic. The director's duties include establishing and maintaining contact with persons, organizations and institutions whose capabilities encompass common ground with the missions of ERDC, USACE and the Army.
Grant, who was a research physical scientist at CRREL for 15 years before moving to London, served as IRO director for four years. "The IRO promotes cooperation between ERDC and researchers living and working overseas, in addition to supporting USACE/ERDC visitors that are on temporary duty to Europe," he said. "The office also supports expert travel, workshop/conference support and R&D contracting, helping ERDC researchers engage with the global research community to discover unique solutions and by doing so, add value to ERDC R&D programs."
IRO capabilities and expertise include contracted research, funding of pilot studies, expert travel and workshops, development of targeted information packages and travel by IRO the director.
The IRO was initially established as the Environmental Sciences and Engineering Branch, attached to the ARO's European Research Office. The office was renamed in 2005 to reflect the broader geographic interests of both the ERDC and USACE.
Additional information is available by visiting the IRO Public Web Site.