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Author: Justin Campfield, public affairs specialist
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  • February

    Dr. Robyn Barbato, a senior research microbiologist and leader of CRREL’s soil microbiology team, coring permafrost samples in the USACE Permafrost Tunnel in Fox, Alaska.

    CRREL researchers discover new species frozen in Alaskan permafrost

    Research microbiologists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) recently discovered 26 new species of microorganisms.

  • January

    CRREL’s Dr. Theodore Letcher demonstrates the Mud Threat Score software tool.

    New software helps military planners predict mud season

    A new software tool called the “Mud Threat Score” now provides military planners with real-time frozen ground and thaw predictions at 30-meter resolution, anytime, anywhere in the world. Developed by ERDC laboratories and their Hanover, New Hampshire-based industry partner Creare, the new tool combines existing weather forecasting data residing within the geospatial decision support tool GeoWATCH with newly developed frozen and thawing soil algorithm to highlight locations that are experiencing or will experience muddy conditions due to the spring thaw.

  • December

    Dr. Mohamed Elshaer inside the asphalt lab at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, New Hampshire.

    Cold-Weather Asphalt: Extending the Paving Season for Mission Readiness

    Paving is difficult in cold temperatures, which poses a significant problem for the many DoD installations located in colder climates across the globe. A research project led by the U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, aims to compact asphalt in freezing conditions without compromising the quality.

  • November

    Photo of a winter road in Fairbanks, Alaska. ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) is providing crucial guidance on building and maintaining the vital, yet unpredictable, winter roads in challenging northern environments. (Image by, J. Williams, CRREL)

    Army Research Aims to Standardize Arctic Winter Road Construction

    A recent report from the U.S Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) is providing crucial guidance on building and maintaining the vital, yet unpredictable, winter roads in challenging northern environments.

  • September

    This summer, ERDC's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) provided research internships to more than 45 high school, undergraduate, and graduate student STEM scholars. Designed to prepare the next generation of STEM professionals for careers in science and technology, the internships give scholars the opportunity to join a CRREL research team working on real projects with real-world implications while also exploring their own individualized research interests.

    CRREL's summer student program provides research opportunities to STEM scholars

    This summer, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) provided research internships to more than 45 high school, undergraduate, and graduate student STEM scholars from 20 schools.
  • CRREL’s Constantine Coclin (left) and Dr. Meghan Quinn prepare to deploy DAS-Ice on Storrs Pond in Hanover, New Hampshire.

    CRREL team pioneers fiber-optic technology to measure ice thickness

    A team of scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, is putting fiber-optic cable to a much more unconventional use: determining the thickness – and therefore safety – of freshwater ice.
  • Randy Hill poses next to the plaque honoring his induction into the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s Gallery of Distinguished Employees.

    CRREL’s Randy Hill Inducted into Gallery of Distinguished Employees

    Physical scientist Randy Hill was inducted into the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s (CRREL) Gallery of Distinguished Employees on Aug. 21.

  • August

    CRREL's George Blaisdell observes the final take-off of a C-17 Globemaster III after the successful first validation operations on the Phoenix compacted snow runway. Blaisdell’s work in the Antarctic and other extreme cold regions recently earned him admittance to The Explorers Club.

    CRREL engineer earns a spot in The Explorers Club for Antarctic accomplishments

    The Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) recently spoke with George Blaisdell about The Explorers Club, his admittance into it and what the achievement means to him.

  • July

    Airmen from the 109th Airlift Wing Make History, Landing the LC-130 Hercules on Fresh Water Ice for the First Time

    ERDC and the 109th Airlift Wing team up for aviation first

    ERDC's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) has performed decades of research and fieldwork establishing that 55 inches of ice is the thickness required to land an LC-130 (a ski-equipped version of the C-130) for both saltwater ice and freshwater ice. Researchers have long thought that a landing on freshwater ice could be done on much less thick of ice.

  • June

    Developed by ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), the Winter Route Planning (WRP) algorithm promises to dramatically reduce the risk of vehicle immobilization and increase overall efficiency when routing soldiers to desired target locations.

    CRREL Develops Winter Route Planning Algorithm

    Developed by ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), the Winter Route Planning (WRP) algorithm promises to dramatically reduce the risk of vehicle immobilization and increase overall efficiency when routing soldiers to desired target locations.

  • April

    CRREL team members along with OUSD and Milrem Robotics staff with the company’s THeMIS UGV. According to Milrem Robotics, the THeMIS is a modular, unmanned platform designed for various applications, including logistics, reconnaissance, medical evacuations and operational support. Photo by Mike Parker, CRREL.

    CRREL teams up with special forces to test autonomous technology in Norway

    The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and Norwegian Special Operations Command hosted a joint Technical Experimentation (TE) this past winter at Camp Rødsmoen in Rena, Norway, giving technology developers the opportunity to interact with special operations forces and evaluate in the field how their products potentially meet their needs.

  • March

    Members of CRREL’s mobility team and executive leadership spent the day on Mount Washington exploring opportunities for collaboration with the Mount Washington Observatory and using the 4,618-foot climb in alpine elevation to test multiple vehicles in preparation for an upcoming technology testing exercise in the Arctic Circle.

    CRREL researchers test equipment at home of “World’s Worst Weather”

    Members of CRREL’s mobility team and executive leadership recently spent the day at the Mount Washington Observatory on the mountain’s summit. While there, they learned about the observatory’s facilities and capabilities and explored opportunities for collaboration between their meteorological and operational staff and CRREL’s researchers and engineers.

  • February

    ERDC-CRREL research physicist Dr. Anthony Fragoso demonstrates CRREL mobility laboratory vehicles to snow sciences workshop attendees.

    CRREL workshop advances Army’s snow science research

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) hosted a snow sciences workshop to advance the understanding of the topics, unique aspects, and elements in common among Army-funded snow research contracts. Special emphasis was placed on why the Army cares about snow, what impacts it has on Warfighter functions and operational planning, and how the Army may operate in the future.

  • December

    Professional portrait of Dr. Ivan Beckman, ERDC's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Director

    Beckman named director of the U.S. Army’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has named Dr. Ivan Beckman director of the Engineer and Research Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL).
  • The late Dr. Mark Moran has been inducted into CRREL's Gallery of Distinguished Employees. Dr. Moran retired in 2021 after a 35-year CRREL career in which he led numerous advancements in radar, seismic and acoustic computational methods and sensing, including groundbreaking work in IED detection that is credited with saving the lives of countless Warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Photo by Joseph Bara)

    Moran posthumously inducted into CRREL's Gallery of Distinguished Employees

    The late Dr. Mark Moran, a research geophysicist whose work is credited with saving the lives of countless Warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, was inducted into the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s (CRREL) Gallery of Distinguished Employees on Nov. 19.

  • November

    CRREL’s Acting Director Dr. Ivan Beckman reviews a Rowan University student’s research findings during a poster session held during Rowan University’s visit to CRREL.

    Rowan University visits CRREL, cementing partnership

    More than 20 Rowan faculty, staff and students visited ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, laboratory for two days of learning and networking.
  • Research scientists at ERDC have successfully demonstrated a novel method of 3-D printing with ice reinforced with natural fibers.

    ERDC scientists pioneer 3-D ice printing

    Research scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have successfully demonstrated a novel method of 3-D printing with ice reinforced with natural fibers.

  • September

    ERDC-CRREL scientists (from left to right) Tricia Nelsen, Dr. Chris Polashenski and Roy Hessner prepare for drilling through the Arctic sea ice to install an Ice Mast Balance Buoy.

    ERDC-CRREL scientists install sensor-laden buoys in one of the planet’s “hardest places” to reach

    As part of NASA's ARCSIX research program, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory scientists Dr. Chris Polashenski, Tricia Nelsen and Roy Hessner engineered and deployed specially modified, sensor-laden buoys into the Arctic Ocean north of Canada and Greenland near the North Pole in an effort to help NASA better understand Arctic sea ice melting.
  • Soldiers from the 82d Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment analyze biological agents "discovered" during a three-day, multi-agency exercise that took place at ERDC’s Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska. One of the main objectives of the exercise was to help Soldiers familiarize themselves with Far-Forward Advanced Sequencing Technology (F-FAST), which was developed by DTRA and U.S. Army DEVCOM to quickly detect, analyze and sequence biological agents while still in the field.

    ERDC Permafrost Tunnel hosts biological agent exercise

    A three-day, multi-agency exercise took place at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska. The 82nd Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment, along with representatives from ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), U.S. Army Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM), U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), 11th Airborne Division Command Surgeon, 103d Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team, and Naval Research Laboratory, conducted the exercise to test Soldiers' ability to quickly and accurately sequence bacteria in extreme cold and arctic conditions.

  • June

    ERDC broke ground on its new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility, a $11.4 million, 4,300 square-foot building that will contribute to significant advances in permafrost engineering, geotechnical research, and Earth and Mars polar science, as well as a greater understanding of life in extreme environments.

    ERDC breaks ground on new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility

    The U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center (ERDC) broke ground June 25 on its new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility, a 4,300 square-foot building that will contribute to significant advances in permafrost engineering, geotechnical research, and Earth and Mars polar science, as well as a greater understanding of life in extreme environments.