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  • January

    Kate Trubac, a Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory research general engineer, oversees an in-situ burn experiment conducted with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The burns are testing the efficiency of a new system designed to improve oil spill clean up.

    CRREL researchers test new crude oil spill method, tools

    When it comes to oil spills, efficient methods of cleanup play a vital role in mitigating damage. Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) are testing the effectiveness of a new tool aimed at cleaning up spills called the fire-boom.

  • April

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) engages CRREL’s wave tank while testing an oil slick measuring device designed by the American University of Beirut for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

    Making Waves: ERDC studies oil spill cleanup techniques

    In the event of an oil spill in the ocean, such as an oil tanker tipping over, its container getting breached or an oil rig’s pipeline leaking, immediate response for cleanup is needed. However, at times, it can be difficult to determine the best means of effective oil-spill cleanup.
  • The aerial drone is a new means of capturing these measurements, and the U.S. Coast Guard has also deployed traditional ground sensors to compare with the readings from the aerial drone. CRREL is one of the few federal agencies with the knowledge, permissions, licenses and facilities to accommodate in situ burns.

    CRREL tests new ways to measure smoke density

    CRREL partners with the U.S. Coast Guard's Research and Development Center and the Environmental Protection Agency to test an aerial drone to determine how effective the device is for measuring air quality and environmental impact of burning oil on water. The aerial drone is a new means of capturing these measurements, and CRREL is one of the few federal agencies with the knowledge, permissions, licenses, and facilities to accommodate in situ burns.

  • September

    Dr. Paul Mlakar, retired force projection technical director at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, remembers exactly where he was the morning of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Hours later, he was tapped to lead the study of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Today, 20 years later, his findings are still being used in blast resistant building design.

    20 years later, ERDC engineer reflects on 9/11, Pentagon wreckage

    The morning of Sept. 11, 2001, began like most others did for Dr. Paul Mlakar, who was serving at the time as technical director for force projection for the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). On that particular Tuesday, Mlakar was working out of a hotel room near the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he had traveled for a seminar that took place the day before. As he sat in his room preparing for a 9 a.m. EST conference call, an unsettling news report came across his muted TV—the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 had struck the north Twin Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

  • July

    A new agreement between the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and Microsoft will improve climate modeling and natural disaster resilience through the use of predictive analytics-powered, cloud-based tools and Artificial Intelligence services.

    ERDC, Microsoft agreement aims to analyze risk of extreme weather in the cloud

    Modeling the risk of extreme weather and natural disasters along the nation’s coastline is critical to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) mission of delivering innovative solutions for safer, better world.