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Power of ERDC

Power of ERDC

By: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
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 Satisfy your curiosity and learn how some of our country’s smartest engineers and scientists are solving many of the toughest challenges facing the nation and the Warfighter. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is comprised of seven research laboratories across four states, and one of its greatest strengths is its ability to combine the expertise from multiple laboratories into powerful, cross-disciplinary projects. Each month, we dive into one of these complex problems across its broad civil works and military mission space and ask ERDC’s world-class researchers about how they are discovering, developing and delivering practical cutting-edge solutions that make the world safer and better.Copyright 2025 Power of ERDC Political Science Politics & Government Science
Episodes
  • #38: H2Rescue: Providing Power, Water and World Records

    #38: H2Rescue: Providing Power, Water and World Records
    Dec 23 2025
    Roughly the distance from New York to Miami – or 1,806 miles. That’s how far a vehicle, developed in part by ERDC, drove on one tank of hydrogen fuel to not only set a mark honored by the Guinness Book of World Records, but also to advance new and existing hydrogen-powered technologies. In this episode, we discuss the development, testing and performance of the H2Rescue vehicle with Nick Josefik, an industrial engineer at ERDC’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. We also talk about the impact it can have in supporting emergency response efforts to natural and man-made disasters. Created to address many of the logistical challenges involved in any response, the H2Rescue vehicle – a 33,000-pound power plant on wheels – went from idea to reality in a few short years, becoming a world-class example of what power-providing emergency systems – powered by hydrogen – can deliver. Topics include the idea and mission behind the development of the H2Rescue Vehicle (02:39), details on the amount of power the vehicle can generate (04:37) and how this vehicle’s capabilities best fit in an emergency response scenario (05:59). We also discuss why hydrogen was the fuel of choice in the vehicle’s development (07:55); the federal, military and industry partners who worked together on the vehicle (11:21); and the behind-the-scenes details on how the team earned Guiness Book of World Records recognition (18:08). Watch the video of this podcast on our website at PowerofERDCpodcast.org/38-h2-rescue-vehicle_video. For additional information, visit PowerofERDCpodcast.org/38-h2-rescue-vehicle_resources.
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    29 mins
  • #37: A Fresh (water) Runway: ERDC’s ice and snow expertise enables historic LC-130 landing

    #37: A Fresh (water) Runway: ERDC’s ice and snow expertise enables historic LC-130 landing
    Dec 16 2025
    When the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing needed to find a suitable location to land its massive LC-130 Hercules cargo plane during an Arctic exercise in March 2025, it turned to ERDC for help. Although the nearby sea ice was not thick enough to support the maneuver, ERDC devised a plan to land the plane on a nearby freshwater lake, a novel approach that required less ice. Leaning into ERDC’s deep expertise in developing ice and snow runways, the 109th completed the landing at Parsons Lake in Canda’s Northwest Territories – the first time the U.S. military has landed an LC-130 on a frozen freshwater surface. We discuss this feat with T.J. Melendy, a research civil engineer at ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Topics include Melendy’s experience with ice and snow runways (5:02), how the idea to land on a freshwater lake originated (11:44) and the differences between freshwater ice and saltwater ice (3:53). We also discussed the process of testing the potential freshwater ice landing (13:30), why this achievement was significant for the U.S. military (24:20) and what is next for this effort (27:01). Watch a video of this podcast on our website at PowerofERDCpodcast.org/37-lc130-landing_video. For additional information, including photos from the landing, visit PowerofERDCpodcast.org/37-lc130-landing_resources.
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    32 mins
  • #36: SandHound: Applying robotics to advance critical coastline survey capabilities

    #36: SandHound: Applying robotics to advance critical coastline survey capabilities
    Dec 9 2025
    For several sweltering weeks along the North Carolina coastline, an ERDC team pushed a quadruped robot with a suite of advanced sensors to its limit to test its ability to conduct critical beach landscape surveys. The research – known as the SandHound Project – is working to validate whether the quadruped can operate at all levels of the coastal landscape and collect critical data that one day can support emergency response and military landing operations. We visit with Jacob Stasiewicz, a master’s student at the University of Delaware who has worked with ERDC for the past two years, to discuss the technology, its capabilities and its future impact on advancing coastal engineering and sciences. Topics discussed include the genesis behind the SandHound Project and early lessons learned (5:22); the experience of testing this robot platform on a busy, public beach (7:18); and the future of this type of system for use across the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and emergency management operations (10:14). We also discussed the types of sensors that were deployed during testing and their capabilities (12:07), the capabilities and the expertise of ERDC’s Field Research Facility where the testing was conducted (15:54), and the future of robotic platforms in further supporting and advancing costal engineering and sciences (22:11). Watch a video of this podcast on our website at PowerofERDCpodcast.org/36-sandhound_video. For additional resources about the SandHound Project, visit PowerofERDCpodcast.org/36-sandhound_resources.
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    32 mins
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