US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center

**About Us** The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center helps solve our nation's most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for the Army, Department of Defense, civilian agencies, and our Nation's public good. Our vision is to become the world's premier public engineering and environmental sciences research and development organization. As one of the most diverse engineering and scientific research organizations in the world, ERDC conducts research and development in support of the Soldier, military installations, and the Corps of Engineers' civil works mission, as well as for other federal agencies, state and municipal authorities, and with U.S. industries through innovative work agreements. ERDC operates more than $2 billion in world class facilities at seven labs located in four states with more than 2,431 employees to administer an annual research program exceeding $2 billion. **Research Areas** We conduct research and development in five major areas: 1. [Military Engineering](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Missions/MilitaryEngineering.aspx "Military Engineering") 2. [Environmental Quality and Installations](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Missions/EnvironmentalQualityandInstallations.aspx "Environmental Quality and Installations") 3. [Civil Works and Water Resources](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Missions/WaterResources.aspx "Water Resources") 4. [Geospatial Research and Engineering](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Missions/GeospatialResearchandEngineering.aspx "Geospatial Research and Engineering") 5. [Engineered Resilient Systems](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Missions/Engineered-Resilient-Systems.aspx "Engineered Resilient Systems") **Expertise** ERDC's most impressive asset is its people - the expertise and education of its research team allows ERDC to provide solutions to the Nation's most complex challenges. ERDC staff includes 1,000 engineers and scientists, many with advanced degrees (28 percent hold doctorates and 42 percent hold master's degrees). ERDC outreach and partnering efforts result in numerous cooperative research and development agreements to engage leading experts from academia, private industry and other agencies. **[Facilities](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/About/ERDCCapabilities/EquipmentandFacilities.aspx "Read more...")** Our facilities range from the world's fastest supercomputers to one-of-a-kind physical models. We host one of six Department of Defense High Performance Computing Centers. The center's Cray XT3 and XT4 supercomputers are some of the most powerful and fastest in the world, with a capability that exceeds 3.5 quadrillion calculations per second. Other unique facilities include the [world's most powerful centrifuge](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/FactSheets/FactSheetArticleView/tabid/9254/Article/476640/centrifuge-research-center.aspx "Centrifuge Research Center"), blast effects facilities, physical models of river and coastal projects, endangered species laboratories, heavy vehicle simulators, hazardous waste research laboratories, [frost](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/FactSheets/FactSheetArticleView/tabid/9254/Article/476644/frost-effects-research-facility.aspx "Frost Effects Research Facility") and [ice engineering](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/FactSheets/FactSheetArticleView/tabid/9254/Article/476643/ice-engineering-research-area.aspx "Ice Engineering Research Area") facilities, an [earthquake simulator](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/FactSheets/FactSheetArticleView/tabid/9254/Article/476734/triaxial-earthquake-and-shock-simulator.aspx "Triaxial Earthquake and Shock Simulator (TESS)"), and an 1,800-foot coastal research pier. **Official Visitors** Upon arrival, all visitors are required to check in with security and/or visitor reception. Visitors must maintain contact with their ERDC representative throughout their visit. **Public tours are not available** Useful Links - [ERDC fact sheets](https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/FactSheets.aspx "ERDC Fact Sheets") - [ERDC information one-pager](https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/29/2003867824/-1/-1/0/ERDC%20ONE%20PAGER%202026%20UPDATED.PDF) - [Laboratory fact sheets](https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/29/2003867818/-1/-1/0/ALL%20LABS%20ONE%20PAGERS%20FINAL%202026.PDF) - [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers](http://www.usace.army.mil/ "US Army Corps of Engineers") - [DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory](https://www.arl.army.mil/) - [U.S. Army Environmental Center](http://www.aec.army.mil/ "US Army Environmental Center")