Who We Are

The Environmental Laboratory (EL) provides relevant, value-added technology supporting the environmental mission of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Army, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Nation. Headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the EL’s interdisciplinary staff of over 220 engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel plans and executes all phases of the technology development process, from basic research to field implementation to commercialization. The EL staff consists of problem solvers who use research, development, experimentation, special studies, and technical support to address the needs of national and international business development partners. Partnering with Federal and State agencies, academia, and the private sector, the EL uses its distinctive technical capabilities to resolve complex, multi-disciplinary environmental sustainability problems. The EL website can be accessed at: http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/

Capabilities

The core of EL’s research is focused in the areas of ecosystem science and technology and environmental resiliency.  EL conducts cross-cutting research in environmental sensing, ecological modeling and forecasting, and risk and decision science. Emerging research areas include the science of environmentally sustainable material, systems biology, climate change, and environmental security.
EL has a variety of specialized R&D facilities to support its mission, including:

• An environmental genomics and ecological genetics laboratory, conducting research on population genetics, ecological genetics, environmental DNA development and monitoring, computational and systems biology, and environmental toxicogenomics.
• Aquatic and wetlands facilities, including laboratories and greenhouses, rainfall simulators/soil lysimeters, and indoor environmental chambers.
• A geospatial data analysis facility to conduct GIS/remote sensing/GPS technology applications; landscape modeling, and data analysis; and unique spatial applications.
• The premier environmental chemistry laboratory in the DoD, with specialized analytical chemistry support, and quality assurance program development.
• A hazardous waste research facility to provide military and civilian cleanup support. This laboratory is RCRA permitted and recognized by EPA as a premier facility.
• An environmental microbiology laboratory to conduct biodegradation and bioremediation analysis, rapid DNA-based detection, and monitoring of phylogenic/functional biomarkers.
• A soil and sediment geochemistry laboratory analyzing solid-phase chemistry, colloid chemistry, fate and transport of contaminants, and solid phase chemical speciation and distribution of carbon and heavy metals in complex environmental matrices.
• A sediment research laboratory, conducting physiochemical and biological evaluations via columns and tanks, capping research, and using fate/transport algorithms to test existing fate and transport methods as well as dredging and placement methods.
• EL also has field stations in Lewisville, TX,  and Baton Rouge, LA

Contact

ERDCinfo@usace.army.mil 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Engineer Research & Development Center 
Environmental Laboratory
3909 Halls Ferry Road
Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199