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  • July

    ERDC science helps USACE districts ease time-of-year dredging restrictions

    ERDC science helps USACE districts ease time-of-year dredging restrictions

    It was when he was a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University that Dr. Matt Balazik, a research ecologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, began intensely studying Atlantic sturgeon, its populations now listed as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
  • Harmful algal blooms in the lab

    ERDC partners with Ohio universities to develop solutions for harmful algal bloom problem

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) established cooperative agreements with the Ohio State University (OSU), the University of Toledo (UToledo) and Bowling Green State University (BGSU) to combat freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs).

  • March

    Alan Katzenmeyer, left, and Anna Miller Jordan, right, both got their start at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) participating in an ERDC-sponsored robotics team while students at Warren Central High School in 2004. Sixteen years later, the two hold supervisory branch chief positions in their respective laboratories, and they credit their successful careers to a solid foundation with the robotics program.

    Starting with STEM: ERDC researchers climb from after-school robotics to branch chief

    At Anna Miller Jordan’s very first robotics team practice as a high-school senior in 2005, she was deemed responsible for piloting a robot to shoot balls into a net, once her classmate Alan Katzenmeyer steered the bot down the court toward the goal. Now, 15 years later, Jordan and Katzenmeyer are both still leading teams at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). But today, instead of high-school peers, those teams are made up of scientists, engineers and researchers working to solve some of the nation’s toughest challenges.
  • Dr. Edmond Russo, director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL), takes the oath as he is inducted into the Senior Executive Service (SES) during a hybrid virtual and in-person SES induction ceremony held at the ERDC-EL building in Vicksburg, Miss., March 11, 2021.

    ERDC Environmental Laboratory director inducted into the Senior Executive Service

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) inducted Environmental Laboratory (EL) Director Dr. Edmond Russo into the Senior Executive Service (SES) during a hybrid virtual and in-person ceremony held March 11 at the ERDC-EL building.

  • February

    Dr. Igor Linkov, senior science and technology manager at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, has been selected by the Department of Defense (DoD) as Laboratory Scientist of the Year for the second quarter of fiscal year 2020. During that timeframe, Linkov led the development of a model series to predict DoD and Federal Emergency Management Agency COVID-19 mission-critical needs in multiple jurisdictions.(Photo by Igor Linkov)

    ERDC scientist earns top DoD award for achievements in risk, resilience science

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – Dr. Igor Linkov, senior science and technology manager at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), was recently selected by the Department of Defense (DoD) as the Laboratory Scientist of the Year for the second quarter of fiscal year 2020.

  • December

    Dr. Burton Suedel, a research biologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, is recognized by ASTM International for leading a diverse group of individuals from public companies, trade groups, government agencies and environmental consultancies to develop a guide for risk-based corrective action for contaminated sediment sites. The ASTM International’s Distinguished Service Award was bestowed upon Suedel Oct. 28, 2020.

    ERDC researcher impacts international contaminated sediment standards

    When Dr. Burton Suedel, a research biologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory (ERDC-EL), heard about the ASTM International project to develop a guide for risk-based corrective action for contaminated sediment sites, he saw it as an opportunity for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to inform international contaminated sediment standards and policy.

  • November

    Dr. Igor Linkov, U.S Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Risk and Decision Science Team lead, wears an example of the protective masks being used in the COVID-19 pandemic.

    ERDC researcher uses lessons learned from historic pandemics to address COVID

    COVID-19 proved to be unexpected to many people in the world, but Dr. Igor Linkov, Risk and Decision Science (RaDS) Team lead at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, found himself on familiar ground.
  • Mariely Mejas-Santiago of the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory poses with her computer between sessions during RD20, a virtual collaborative event that was hosted Oct. 27-30 by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. More than 755 people attended the four-day, online event.

    RD20 fosters collaboration

    With scientists, engineers and other professionals spread across seven laboratories and multiple fields sites across the country, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) network is vast. But last week, ERDC hosted a virtual symposium – RD20 – with the goal of further connecting researchers scattered in various laboratories and locations throughout the country to enhance the organization’s ability to solve the nation’s toughest engineering challenges.

  • October

    A new podcast series tells the stories of how, over the last 10 years, a growing international community of practitioners, scientists, engineers, and researchers across many disciplines and organizations are working together to combine natural and engineering systems to solve problems and diversify infrastructure value by applying the principles and practices of Engineering With Nature®.

    Incorporating EWN into Coastal Texas resilience, restoration

    In this episode of the new Engineering With Nature® (EWN) Podcast, guest Dr. Edmond Russo, former deputy district engineer for Planning, Programs, and Project Management, Galveston District, and current director, Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), discusses the scope and scale of Galveston District’s responsibilities, and how the district is incorporating the principles and practices of EWN into their daily work as well as their future planning.

  • September

    Dr. Edmond Russo, a 27-year U.S. Army Corps of Engineers veteran, has been selected as the director of the Environmental Laboratory at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The ERDC helps solve the nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources and environmental sciences, and conducts research and development in support of the Soldier, military installations and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works mission, as well as for other federal, state and municipal authorities.

    ERDC Environmental Laboratory director named

    Dr. Edmond Russo has been selected as the director of the Environmental Laboratory (EL) at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • Shea Hammond, a member of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory’s (EL) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) team, monitors a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data-collecting aircraft as it begins its survey of a section of the Bayou Pierre watershed near Vicksburg, Mississippi. Researchers from the ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory recently collaborated with the EL UAS team for a project to develop a rapid watershed assessment approach using the remote sensing technology.

    ERDC researchers developing low-cost, rapid watershed assessment

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District to develop and test a low-cost, rapid watershed assessment using remote sensing technology to evaluate problems associated with watershed instability including erosion, sedimentation, flooding and environmental degradation.

  • July

    Sears Point Wetland Restoration, a project completed in 2016 by Sonoma Land Trust, Ducks Unlimited and many other partners, is an excellent example of using natural and nature-based features to restore a tidal marsh, which helps mitigate flooding in the area, one of the many social, environmental and economic benefits this project delivers. The marsh mounds were used to attenuate wind-wave energy and allow the natural accretion of sediment near San Pablo Bay, north of San Francisco, California

    Knauss Fellow, Engineering With Nature initiative a perfect match

    To Samuel Fielding, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative seemed like a perfect fit. As a prospective John A. Knauss Marine Fellow, Fielding was searching for a host organization where he could utilize his interdisciplinary education in economics, international relations and biology. His doctorate research was focused on the economics of coastal adaption and the socioeconomics of coastal hazards within flood insurance markets.

  • June

    Employees from across the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attend the USACE unmanned aerial systems training course at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. The training program has been extremely beneficial to the USACE Aviation Program. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    Unmanned aerial system training with Hinds Community College a boost to USACE

    It’s not often that someone is credited with advancing an entire program within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), but Jenny Laird, the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) lead for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL), did just that by establishing the USACE UAS training program at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, in conjunction with the ERDC Graduate Institute.

  • May

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Team developed a three-step process for assessing regionally adjusted COVID-19 outcomes in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

    ERDC researchers model COVID-19 for the Nation

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – When the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Dr. Brandon Lafferty sleeps these days, he dreams about predictive models. That’s because since mid-March, Lafferty, a researcher from the ERDC Environmental Laboratory, has been helping lead ERDC’s Modelling and Simulation Team develop the ERDC Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered ⸺ or SEIR ⸺ model for COVID-19, and it’s an intense effort.
  • St. Paul District Biologist Aaron McFarlane, far right, toured the Vicksburg National Military Park with ERDC Historian Terry Winschel, left, and other district selectees during kickoff week activities for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center University. He will work with Environmental Laboratory mentors during his six-month session. In addition to the park, McFarlane toured the four laboratories on ERDC’s 700-acre campus during the first week of March.

    St. Paul District Biologist Aaron McFarlane selected for Engineer Research and Development Center University program

    Professional networking opportunities stirred U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) St. Paul District Biologist Aaron McFarlane’s interest in applying for the U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) University, where he is now participating in a six-month session to expand his environmental expertise.

  • April

    The U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Justin Wilkens, a research biologist with the Environmental Laboratory, checks the waypoints using the SubSeaSail’s G6 navigation software on his laptop. The unmanned surface vessel was taken to Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for a demonstration by Wilkens and a team of ERDC-EL research biologists, including Dr. Guilherme Lotufo and Dr. Mark Ballentine. The USV gathered data indicating the presence of munitions constituents from unexploded underwater ordnance, a problem at sites around the world. Chris Todter, far left, a SubSeaSail partner, and Tom Goddard, far right, SubSeaSail Fabrication and Testing, are also visible in the photo.

    Team successfully tests new unmanned autonomous surface vessel

    Anxious at first about the specter of possible software glitches that would derail the project, the U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Justin Wilkens, a research biologist with the Environmental Laboratory, soon confirmed that everything was functioning well. He and a team of other EL research biologists, including Dr. Guilherme Lotufo and Dr. Mark Ballentine, visited Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for five days in February to demonstrate a new unmanned autonomous surface vessel, or USV.

  • March

    Dr. Cody Gray congratulates Dr. Linda Nelson as she receives the President’s Award from the Aquatic Plant Management Society in 2015 for her dedication to the organization over the course of her career. Nelson retired from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, February 28, 2020, wearing three hats: associate technical director for Civil Works, Environmental Engineering and Sciences, and program manager for the Aquatic Nuisance Species Research and the Aquatic Plant Control Research Programs.

    Career opportunities made Corps a compelling place for Nelson

    Looking back on her 35-year career, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Dr. Linda Nelson thinks the opportunities were so plentiful, she couldn’t resist staying with the Corps. The associate technical director for Civil Works, Environmental Engineering and Sciences, wore three hats until she retired, February 28, 2020, serving also as program manager for the Aquatic Nuisance Species Research and the Aquatic Plant Control Research Programs.
  • A Civil Works titan retires from 40-year research career with the Corps

    A Civil Works titan retires from 40-year research career with the Corps

    A noteworthy but humble figure exited the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory for the last time, February 28, 2020. Dr. Alfred Cofrancesco, Jr. retired from his position as senior scientific technical manager and director of the Civil Works environmental research area for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

  • February

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Environmental Laboratory’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems team members Barry Barnett, Kenneth Matheson and Shea Hammond watch the Vapor 55, a UAS that weighs just under 55 pounds and carries both the LiDAR sensor and 42MP camera, as it follows its flight path around the installation.

    Uniquely qualified unmanned aircraft systems team completes data collection project

    VICKSBURG, Miss. (Feb. 14, 2020) -- As the installation asset mapping project nears completion, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Manager Jenny Laird said she feels proud of her team. “This has been a two-year project in the making, and it’s a huge accomplishment for our group, the Environmental Laboratory and the ERDC as a whole to have created a comprehensive map for a 700-acre installation,” Laird said. “That’s a large data collection to take on as our first go-around with this type of application.”
  • Sears Point is the site of a Natural and Nature-Based Features wetland restoration project in San Pablo Bay, Sonoma County, Calif. To build up marsh elevation, Sonoma Land Trust, Ducks Unlimited and federal, state and private partners utilized round marsh mounds to buffer wind and wave energy, thereby allowing sediment to accrete in the area through natural processes.

    Landmark guidelines on natural and nature-based features is an international effort

    Nearly four years ago, a team led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that now includes 189 scientists, engineers and resource managers from 73 worldwide organizations gathered to begin work on a set of international guidelines for utilizing Natural and Nature-Based Features. Today, the project is nearing completion with the publication of “Guidelines on the Use of Natural and Nature-Based Features for Sustainable Coastal and Fluvial Systems” expected in 2020. The guidelines will provide practitioners with the best available information concerning the conceptualization, planning, design, engineering, construction and maintenance of NNBF to support resilience and flood risk reduction for coasts, bays and estuaries, as well as river and freshwater lake systems.