Laboratory Information:
USACE - ERDC - Construction Engineering Research Laboratory
P.O. Box 9005
Champaign, IL 61821-9005
Website: http://www.cecer.army.mil/
Technology Transfer Website: http://www.cecer.army.mil/td/tips/product/details.cfm?ID=675&LAB=1
Agency/Department: Dept. of Defense - Army
Region: Midwest
FLC Laboratory Representative:
Ms. Bea Shahin
Phone: 217-373-7234
Fax: 217-373-7210
Email: Bea.S.Shahin@usace.army.mil
Background/History of the Laboratory:
The ERDC is a Major Subordinate Command of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers that develops and applies
innovative science and technology solutions to support warfighting, infrastructure, environment, water
resources, and disaster operations. The ERDC consists of 2000 employees working in seven laboratories
at
four sites. The ERDC headquarters is located at the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) in Vicksburg,
Miss.
The operating elements at that site are the Coastal and Hydraulics, Environmental, Geotechnical and
Structures, and the Information Technology Laboratories. The Cold Regions Research and Engineering
Laboratory (CRREL) is located in Hanover, N.H. The Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)
is
located in Champaign, Ill. The Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) is located in Alexandria, Va. In
the mid-
1960s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that to successfully meet the challenge of its huge
and
increasingly complex construction program a new research laboratory was required. This decision led
to the
creation of the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in 1968. The National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) recommended in 1968 that the Corps establish a laboratory dedicated to this mission.
NAS
further advised co-locating this facility with a major academic institution having a strong engineering
college.
After judging proposals from 20 major universities, the Army chose the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (UIUC) as the location for the new Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. The lab was
dedicated July 25, 1969.
Mission of the Laboratory:
The mission of the U.S.
Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is to provide quality,
responsive engineering and environmental research and development support to the Army and the Nation.
Specifically, the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory focuses on:
- Installation operations - Research into technologies and systems that
can be used to reduce the
manpower and costs associated with operating installations by improving the maintenance and repair
of infrastructure, conserving and improving energy utilization, preventing pollution and complying with
environmental regulations, and improving base operations management functions through business
and process reinvention.
- Military Land Management - Research to provide knowledge, tools, and
improved practices to support
the sustained military use of military lands, seas, and airspace, and to support military stewardship
of
natural and cultural geophysical resources on these lands.
- Facility Acquisition and Revitalization - Research to improve the facility
delivery process, mitigate facility
multi-hazard risk, and develop enduring building systems.
Technology Transfer Mechanisms:
- Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)
- Education Partnership Agreements
- Facility Sharing
- Interagency Agreements
- Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreements
- Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding
- Patents and Licensing
- Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
- Technical Assistance
Technology Areas of Expertise:
- Assistive Technology
- Computers and Software
- Energy
- Environmental
- Materials
- Sensors
- Transportation
