The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is proud to have a long history of discovering, developing and delivering new ways to protect our environment. Today, ERDC continues to produce world-class research to support the Corps of Engineers’ Environmental Operating Principles. That includes methods to remove blue-green algae from large bodies of water and break down its toxins into useful products like biofuels and fertilizer. ERDC is leading a collaborative effort to address the legacy issues of PFAS, and is providing more environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies for Army installations. It is helping the Corps beneficially use dredged sediment to nourish wetlands, and is helping local governments prepare for the flood threat that follows destructive wildfires. ERDC’s commitment to improving and sustaining the environment remains steadfast.

Charged with operating more than 13,000 miles of coastal navigation channels, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs robust decision-support technologies to better manage its vast portfolio. ERDC’s Coastal Inlets Research Program infuses these technologies into the hands of practitioners to ensure mission success. The program develops a robust suite of engineering technology focused on Coastal Modeling, Inlet Engineering, Inlet Geomorphic Evolution and Coastal Navigation Portfolio Management. Its tools support the Corps of Engineers from engineers and scientists working at the project scale to regional- and national-level business line managers overseeing the Navigation Operations and Maintenance Program. Its modeling techniques accelerate the prediction of processes and cut costs by several orders of magnitude.

Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to construct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Semonite turned to the Engineer Research and Devleopment Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg to ask for help accomplishing that mission. Within an hour of the initial phone call, the ERDC Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff had gathered and begun preparing to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.

Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to construct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Semonite turned to the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg to ask for help accomplishing that mission. Within an hour of the initial phone call, the ERDC Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff had gathered and begun preparing to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.

Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite has made headlines for his plans to contruct makeshift hospital rooms across the country as the Nation prepares for an onslaught of COVID-19 patients. On Monday, Semonite turned to the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg to ask for help accomplishing that mission. Within an hour of the initial phone call, the ERDC Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff had gathered and begun preparing to build two types of mock-up hospital rooms.

A challenging problem facing our military is the impact caused by aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) that has been used to control aviation fires at military bases since the 1970s. It contains a substance called PFAS, which has been discovered at hundreds of installations around the world, and Department of Defense leadership has committed to further studying the issue. In support of the Department of Defense, ERDC is leading a collaborative effort to bring experts together from government and industry to address the legacy issues of PFAS, and subsequent replacement compounds, as they seek out cost-effective and environmentally protective solutions.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Fish Ecology Team in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is using new technology, an autonomous underwater vehicle, in a study of the value of borrow pits in the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River. The team is matching the water quality data it collects with the EcoMapper with fish sampling to determine the relative value of borrow pits, which make up more than 40 percent of aquatic habitat in the floodplain.

75 years ago ERDC delivered innovative ways to support the war effort across multiple domains during D-Day. The contest on land, at sea, and in the air - despite the passing of three-quarters of a century - provided valuable lessons for the future of multi-domain operations. It illustrated the need to balance offensive striking power with operational reach. ERDC’s multi-lab, cross-functioning capability teams are engineering solutions to succeed in the MDO battlespace – anywhere, anytime.

Wetlands are a valuable natural feature that protect coastlines, and are in danger of disappearing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is beneficially using dredged sediment to nourish existing wetlands, but there is a limited understanding of the hydrodynamics in submerged canopies, such as underwater vegetation, commonly found nearby. To address that knowledge gap, ERDC researchers conducted a unique two-phase experiment using more than 14,000 wooden dowels to create a 73-foot long submerged canopy in a wave flume. They measured the hydrodynamics at numerous locations and placed sediment adjacent to the canopy to quantify its transport rate and direction. Their research will ultimately lead to healthier wetlands and increased protection along our coasts.

Current construction methods can be resource and labor intensive, which impacts efficiency. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is revolutionizing this process through work being done at its Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois. Engineers and scientists have developed a new 3D printer capable of outputting concrete to build houses and other structures. The additive construction technology is also serving the Warfighter by reducing the logistical and manpower burden to support infrastructure in the field. On a recent visit to CERL, ERDC Director Dr. David Pittman spoke to mechanical engineer Megan Kreiger about her contributions to this innovation. Harness the Power of ERDC at ERDCINFO@USACE.ARMY.MIL

Engineers and scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are working to ensure the military has the energy and water it needs in the event of a disaster. Dr. David Pittman, Director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), sat down with Giselle Rodriguez, the chief of the energy branch at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois to talk more about her work to make the military more energy efficient, as well as about other efforts to break barriers in construction. Harness the Power of ERDC at ERDCINFO@USACE.ARMY.MIL

In 2019, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) celebrated its 20th anniversary. The merger of seven separate labs into one organization strengthened ERDC's ability to Discover, Develop and Deliver New Ways to Make the World Safer and Better, and its list of accomplishments and support to our Nation continues to grow.

In 2019, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) celebrated its 20th anniversary. The merger of seven separate labs into one organization strengthened ERDC's ability to Discover, Develop and Deliver New Ways to Make the World Safer and Better, and its list of accomplishments and support to our Nation continues to grow.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosted the first-ever USACE Innovation Summit 2019, September 17-18, at its Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, MS. The event brought together representatives from across USACE, industry, and academia to spark innovation and collaboration, inspire the solving of complex challenges, and lead change towards revolutionizing the Corps.

Facilitated by ERDCWERX, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Innovation Summit 2019 will be held at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, September 17-18, 2019. A high-profile industry day with national visibility, the USACE Innovation Summit will feature presentations on military and civil innovations, exhibits, tech challenges, and opportunities for collaboration and partnerships. More than 500 attendees from across the United States in government, industry, and academia will connect and collaborate in a high-tech, high-tech, innovative setting.

The Engineer Research and Development Center held a Change of Command ceremony Friday, 6 Sept. at 10 a.m. CST in the ERDC Auditorium, Bldg. 3000. Colonel Ivan Beckman relinquishes command to Colonel Teresa Schlosser in a Change of Command ceremony. MG Richard Kaiser, Deputy Chief of Engineers and Deputy Commanding General, USACE, served as the reviewing officer for the event.

ERDC’s Ship/Tow Simulator has been an integral tool supporting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission to evaluate navigation channels. After seeing the Ship/Tow simulator during a tour of ERDC, Amphibious Operations experts from the U.S. Marine Corps envisioned a new potential application for the simulator. ERDC researchers are now helping them achieve those objectives.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plays a crucial role for the Nation and Warfighter with its Civil Works and Military Missions, as well as R&D, in support of other federal agencies, and international stakeholders. The innovative work and research performed today continues to propel the Corps towards the realm of the possible.

CHAMPAIN, IL. (Aug. 28, 2019) - Installation systems, buildings and structures, training and lands, the Warfighter, emergency response infrastructure and more are all part of the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory's present day missions. CERL's original mission was tightly focused on vertical construction. Presently, at a time of rapid transition within the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Army, CERL is increasingly poised to create unique impacts across the homeland, cantonment and contingency operations through innovative research. One of seven laboratories belonging to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, CERL was dedicated in July 1969. Today CERL celebrates its 50th Anniversary.