The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (CERL) is the lead laboratory in the Army for research to support sustainable military installations. CERL's research is directed towards increasing the Army's ability to more efficiently construct, operate, and maintain its installations and ensure environmental quality and safety at a reduced life-cycle cost. Excellent facilities support the Army's training, readiness, mobilization, and sustainability missions. An adequate infrastructure and realistic training lands are critical assets to installations, which serve as platforms to project power worldwide.
CERL works closely with its Army customers to develop quality products and services and to help customers implement new technologies. User groups and steering committees have been established to help CERL identify existing problems, establish research priorities, and provide input into the development of products. Many CERL products developed under this teamwork approach are in daily use, both within the Department of Defense and the private/public sectors. An active technology transfer program ensures these products receive the widest dissemination among prospective users.
CERL's success in providing high quality products is the result of its ability to work with the university community and private industry. CERL was located in Champaign, IL in 1969 to work with the College of Engineering and other organizations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Over 200 university personnel supplement the 433 government employees at CERL. It's staff represents a wide variety of scientific disciplines ranging from materials engineers to computer programmers to biologists. A multi-talented support staff consisting of technicians, writers, and accountants assists the research staff in the everyday details of conducting research and development (R&D). Under various contract arrangements, CERL actively works with over 40 major universities and private organizations in conducting research to support Army needs.
CERL conducted a $77 million R&D program in FY97. The CERL program is divided into three business areas: Facility Acquisition and Revitalization; Installation Operations; and Conservation and Environmental Quality. The four laboratories within CERL, which execute this program, are the Planning and Management; Utilities and Industrial Operations; Land Management; and Facilities Technology laboratories.
The intent of this Business Area (BA) is to support Army Directorate of Public Works (DPW) personnel in their duties involved with utilizing, operating, maintaining, repairing, and disposing of the non-industrial and industrial facilities that make up Army installations. Installation Operations R&D is divided into three major research thrusts: improved operations, maintenance and repair (OM&R) technologies, improved environmental stewardship, and improved DPW business practices. The resulting improvements will be achieved through the application of innovative OM&R technologies, the expansion of automation, and the streamlining of DPW business practices. This research supports the vision of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management's (ACSIM) as described in Installations: A Strategy for the 21st Century. The challenge is that these goals must be achieved during a time when financial and manpower resources at installations are decreasing by more than 50% (FY90 to FY00).
The Army and Department of Defense utilize over 25 million acres of land plus extensive areas of sea and airspace in support of the military training and testing missions. Sustained use of these resources is critical for military readiness, but resource degradation and environmental constraints limit military activities on military lands. The goals of this business area are twofold: (1) to provide knowledge, tools, and improved practices to support the sustained military use of military lands, seas, and airspace, and (2) to support military stewardship of natural and cultural geophysical resources on these lands. Currently, the business area is organized to deliver a series of major "capabilities" to the military consisting of the following: threatened and endangered species (TES) management, land rehabilitation management, land carrying capacity, military noise management, cultural resources risk assessment, land management technology integration, ecosystems management, and arid lands restoration management.
FAR research and development initiatives ensure that the Army has excellent facilities to support training, readiness, mobilization, and sustainability missions. The objective is to develop technologies to significantly reduce installation costs while improving readiness and quality of life. The technologies integrate life-cycle considerations and costs and environmental sustainability concerns into the designed facility. The research is organized into three major thrust areas: (1) facility delivery process improvement, (2) facility seismic risk mitigation, and (3) enduring building systems. The rationale for investment is based on a number of factors unique to the Army: the high cost of Army infrastructure and concomitant migration of funds from readiness accounts to pay for it; unique facilities management problems; a conservative, risk averse, fragmented industry with minimal R&D investment; and public laws and Executive orders.
The CERL POC is Dr. David L. Johnson in the Plans and Programs Office, COMM 217-373-7205; toll-free 800-USA-CERL; FAX 217-373-7222; CERL, ATTN: CECER-PP, P.O. Box 9005, Champaign, IL 61826-9005; e-mail d-johnson@cecer.army.mil. To learn more about CERL's R&D, visit our home page on the World-Wide Web at http://www.cecer.army.mil.