W912HZ19BAA02_ERDC_Research_Services_22Feb19.pdf

Broad Agency Announcement

Research Services

W912HZ-19-BAA-02

U.S. ARMY ENGINEER RESEARCH

AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

(ERDC)

W912HZ-19-BAA-02 ERDC Broad Agency Announcement February 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ….…………………………………………………………………………

PART I: BACKGROUND ………………………………………………………………………………

PART II: PRE-PROPOSAL & PROPOSAL EVALUATION …...………………………………..…… 8

PART III: PRE-PROPOSAL & PROPOSAL PREPARATION ….…………………………………… 9

Section 1 – Introduction ……….………………………………………………………………… Section 2 – General Information ………………………………………………………………….. 11 Section 3 – Type of Contract ……………………………………………………………………… 12 Section 4 – Contents of Pre-Proposal ………………………………………………………………13 Section 5 – Contents of Full Proposal …………………………………………………………….. 14

PART IV: RESEARCH INTERESTS…………………………………………………………………… 16

ATTACHMENTS ………………………………………………………………………………………… 44

Attachment A – Clauses for Fixed Price Contracts …………………………………………… Attachment B – Clauses for Cost Reimbursable Contracts …………………………………… Attachment C – Additional Representations and Certifications…………………………………... 70

POINTS OF CONTACT

For contractual questions concerning proposals contact:

Jody Criss at 601-634-5248 or Jody.Criss@usace.army.mil

For technical questions, contact the technical personnel listed in Paragraph 3 of each research topic.

For more information about ERDC visit our website at: http://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/.

INTRODUCTION

Institutions meeting the covered educational institution requirements under United States Code Title 10 Section 2362, Research and educational programs and activities: historically black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions of higher education, are allowed the opportunity to submit proposals under this notice for contracts for student research services.

Proposals may be submitted by Historically Black Colleges and Universities or Minority Institutions (HBCUs/MIs) to provide research support to any of the research and development areas listed in this solicitation. HBCU/MIs interested in submitting a proposal must address the specific Research Topic Area numbers under which they are submitting. They must also clearly state within their proposal their capability to perform the contract and include a positive statement of their eligibility as an HBCU or MI. These contracts will be written in accordance with the Contract Student Regulation as regards pay, GPA requirements, place of performance and every other requirement or statement within the regulation.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) includes the Coastal and Hydraulics Lab (CHL), the Geotechnical and Structures Lab (GSL), the Reachback Operations Center (UROC), the Environmental Lab (EL) and the Information Technology Lab (ITL) in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, the Construction Engineering Research Lab (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois, and the Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL) in Alexandria, Virginia. The ERDC is responsible for conducting research in the broad fields of hydraulics, dredging, coastal engineering, instrumentation, oceanography, remote sensing, geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, soil effects, vehicle mobility, self-contained munitions, military engineering, geophysics, pavements, protective structures, aquatic plants, water quality, dredged material, treatment of hazardous waste, wetlands, physical/mechanical/ chemical properties of snow and other frozen precipitation, infrastructure and environmental issues for installations, computer science, telecommunications management, energy, facilities maintenance, materials and structures, engineering processes, environmental processes, land and heritage conservation, and ecological processes. This research is conducted by Government personnel and by contract with educational institutions, non-profit organizations and private industries.

PERSONS SUBMITTING PROPOSALS ARE CAUTIONED THAT ONLY A

mailto:Jody.Criss@usace.army.mil http://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/

CONTRACTING OFFICER MAY OBLIGATE THE GOVERNMENT TO ANY

AGREEMENT INVOLVING EXPENDITURE OF GOVERNMENT FUNDS.

The Offeror, by submission of an offer or execution of a contract in response to this solicitation, certifies that the Offeror is not debarred, suspended, declared ineligible for award of public contracts, or proposed for debarment pursuant to FAR 9.406-2. If the Offeror cannot so certify, or if the status of the Offeror changes prior to award, the Offeror must provide detailed information as to its current status.

Proposals submitted under the BAA should clearly identify within the proposal any research that is expected to be fundamental in nature as defined in National Security Defense Directive 189.

Fundamental research means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

Proposals that are selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Resulting agreements may be in the form of purchase orders, contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements depending upon the specifics of the effort, such as extent of Government involvement, actual scope of work, and cost.

PART I: BACKGROUND

A. The COASTAL and HYDRAULICS LABORATORY (CHL) has nationally and internationally recognized engineering and scientific expertise related to inland waterways and the estuarine and coastal zones. CHL has foremost capabilities in prototype data collection, experimental research and numerical modeling and simulation of processes involving water levels, current, winds, waves and tides, and their interaction with sediments and structures.

Specific and unique expertise exists in the engineering, hydrodynamics, sediment transport, dredging and dredged material disposal, physical processes associated with environmental analyses, groundwater modeling, military hydrology, harbor engineering, and riverbank and shore protection. CHL has the Tri-Service Reliance mission for Logistics-Over- the Shore (LOTS) for Sustainment Engineering. The Shore Protection Manual, which is internationally recognized as the most authoritative source of engineering design and guidance for the coastal engineering profession, was originally developed by the Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC), and is being replaced by the CHL with an updated and greatly expanded Coastal Engineering Manual.

B. The GEOTECHNICAL and STRUCTURES LABORATORY (GSL) performs research, development and testing in many areas such as: soil mechanics, foundation design, slope stability, seepage analysis, pavements (both expedient and permanent), rock mechanics, engineering geology and geophysics, earthquake engineering, vehicle mobility and trafficability, structural dynamics, explosion and weapon effects, survivability, earth dynamics, construction materials, impact of high-velocity projectiles, development of methods for installation of fixed installation camouflage, concealment and deception, and design and analysis of structures to resist static and dynamic loading. The Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory is equipped to perform any type of laboratory testing, including centrifuge applications, needed to assist in the types of research described herein.

C. The ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY (EL) conducts Military and Civil Works R&D for the Corps of Engineers, other Department of Defense elements, and other Government agencies in the general areas of Environmental Restoration (Clean-up) and Environmental Conservation. Areas of research include: (a) environmental sensing development, (b) hazardous waste site characterization and treatment, (c) sediment geochemistry and biological effects, (d) water quality modeling, and unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Environmental Conservation deals with sustaining natural resources entrusted to DoD for continued use through improving and developing tools and technologies of fundamental and applied process level research, use of modeling and statistics for forecasting; all which conserve, protect, and enhance natural and cultural resources and foster stewardship. Areas of research include: (a) environmental database development; (b) environmental impact prediction, assessment, and management; (c) environmental criteria for stream channel alteration; (d) natural resource management, and animal movement behavior response to environmental (aquatic, terrestrial, aerial, social) patterns; (e) aquatic nuisance species management; (f) threatened and endangered species protection and management; (g) ecology, restoration, and management of plant communities in aquatic ecosystems; (h) water quality; (i) outdoor recreation; (j) cultural resources; and (k) ecosystem simulation.

D. The INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY (ITL) conducts research, development, and studies and provides technical assistance and operational support in information technology (IT) and closely related fields, with particular emphasis on the areas of computer-aided interdisciplinary engineering, computer-aided design and drafting, building information modeling, computer-aided facilities management, computer science, high performance computing, advanced computer security, general-purpose computing, and sensor and instrumentation systems. These activities are conducted to support and enable execution of missions of USACE, the Army, and DoD.

E. The U.S. Army CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING RESEARCH LABORATORY (CERL) offers research and development (R&D) support, as well as technical assistance, to a variety of customers throughout the Department of the Army (DA) and other Government agencies. CERL is the lead Army facility for conducting R&D on infrastructure and environmental issues for installations. CERL’s research is directed toward 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. To accomplish the mission, CERL has two Divisions: Facilities and Installations. Researchers in these Divisions are matrixed across the ERDC organization in multi-disciplinary teams that bring the best expertise to bear on solving problems for the Department of Defense.

F. The mission of the COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY (CRREL) is to solve interdisciplinary, strategically important problems of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Army, Department of Defense, and the Nation by advancing and applying science and engineering to complex environments, materials, and processes in all seasons and climates, with unique core competencies related to the Earth’s cold regions. CRREL provides innovative products and solutions in support of the warfighter, homeland security, environment, infrastructure, and civil works water resources requirements. CRREL’s research staff utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach to solve difficult environmental physics and cold regions engineering problems. Technical areas of research include Signature Physics, Terrain Properties and Processes, Biogeochemical Processes in Earth Materials, Environmental Fate and Transport Geochemistry, Maneuver Support and Sustainment, Cold Regions Infrastructure, Water Resources and Geospatial Applications, and Hydrology and Hydraulics.

G. The GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH LABORATORY’s (GRL) mission is to provide the Warfighter with a superior knowledge of the battlefield. This mission is accomplished through research, development, operations and systems support, and the application of expertise in the geospatial, topographic and related sciences. Throughout its history, GRL has developed and exploited geospatial-related technologies critical to meeting the Nation’s military. GRL has applied its expertise to the needs of homeland defense and the global war on terrorism. These technologies and their related research, operations and systems development activities, essential to the Army in accomplishing its global mission, include the following:

• Timely acquisition, fusing, analysis, display, and dissemination of remotely sensed, multi- sourced information depicting imagery, features, elevation, and other information essential to accurately describe the land warrior battle space.

• The development of geographic information software that enables reliable, efficient, and secure information management, interoperability and accessibility for various user communities operating globally, each with different needs.

• The development of globally fielded applications and systems for acquiring, accessing, fusing, and delivering terrain and feature information to the soldier.

• The development of accurate on-the-fly global positioning systems for use with inertial guidance as essential positioning engines for acquiring near real time, dynamic, high- accuracy, remotely sensed 3-d terrain and feature information.

• The development of increasingly compact, more efficient, and more comprehensive applications and systems aimed at providing low echelon combat units with information in near-real-time, enabling rapid response to developing situations in any battle space.

• The development of new and innovative techniques to understand and visualize terrain and battle space information in all dimensions, and to accommodate reasoning within analytical results.

• The development of accurate and efficient survey and mapping systems for use by both military and civil communities.

• Capabilities in acquisition, testing and fielding of topographic systems; advanced and engineering development of imagery systems; and research and development in the areas of imagery and intelligence data exploitation.

• Operational capabilities in geospatial information and imagery requirements development; terrain, hydrologic, and environmental analysis; and information services.

H. The USACE REACHBACK OPERATIONS CENTER (UROC) is an engineering analysis reach back (i.e., telepresence) capability to support personnel in the execution of their mission across the full operational spectrum. Research in this area includes the development and/or integration of models (empirical, analytical, numerical, etc.) and hardware to improve subject matter expert (SME) response time, provide highly accurate engineer analysis to deployed personnel, and improve the capability of personnel in the field to collect engineering data.

PART II: PRE-PROPOSAL & PROPOSAL EVALUATION

A. All proposals initially submitted in response to this announcement may be considered pre- proposals, unless specified as a full proposal. Should ERDC evaluation indicate a need for a full proposal, one will be requested from the offeror. Every pre-proposal and full proposal will include an Executive Summary prepared by the offeror. The Executive Summary will be no more than one page in length. The Executive Summary will not include any sensitive data or proprietary information. The purpose of the Executive Summary is to provide evaluators a comprehensive synopsis, an overview, of the pre-proposal/full proposal’s key points. A pre-proposal will not exceed 5 pages. Upon receipt, the ERDC staff will perform an initial review of its scientific merit, its potential contribution to the Army/ERDC mission, and the current availability of funding. As prescribed in FAR 35.016(a), proposed efforts shall focus on supporting ERDC’s requirements for scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding, rather than focusing on a specific system or hardware solution. Offerors of pre-proposals receiving favorable initial review will be encouraged to submit a more detailed full proposal (in the format outlined in Part III), which will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria detailed below.

B. Proposals submitted in response to this notice which result in the award of a contract instrument will be evaluated as received using the following factors/criteria:

1. The overall scientific and/or technical merits of the proposal, including how the proposal meets the requirements for student research services.

2. The potential contributions of the effort to the ERDC mission.

3. The qualifications, capabilities, and experiences of the proposed principal investigator, team leader, and other key personnel who are critical to achievement of the proposal’s objectives.

4. The reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fee, if any, and the availability of funds.

5. Past Performance

C. If a grant or cooperative agreement is contemplated by the offeror, they shall specifically describe in the proposal how the principal purpose of the research effort supports or stimulates a public purpose and, if applicable, the substantial involvement by the government. See Part III, Pre-Proposal and Proposal Preparation, Section 3 - Type of Contract.

D. Pre-proposals and proposals not considered having sufficient scientific merit or relevance to the Army's needs or those in areas for which funds are not expected to be available may be declined.

PART III: PRE-PROPOSAL & FULL PROPOSAL PREPARATION

SECTION 1 -INTRODUCTION

This part is intended to provide information needed in preparing proposals for submission to

ERDC.

All offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov before award can be made.

Organizations interested in submitting research proposals to ERDC are encouraged to make preliminary inquiries as to the general need for the type of research effort contemplated before expending extensive effort in preparing a detailed research proposal. Points of contact are listed with the specific Performance Work Statements for each laboratory. The research proposal often represents a substantial investment of time and effort by the offeror, and it should present the proposed research effort in sufficient detail to allow ERDC to evaluate the proposal and to determine funding availability.

Proposals must reference the Topic Number for the specific Research Interest (e.g., CERL 19-1, CHL 19-5).

Note that no funds available to the Department of Defense may be provided to any institution of higher education that either has a policy of denying or that effectively prevents the Secretary of Defense from obtaining, for military recruiting purposes, entry to campuses or access to students on campuses or access to directory information pertaining to students.

Note that there is a requirement for contractor reporting if the contract is funded with military funds. The below information is provided for your assistance in complying.

The below statement will be listed in each contract for student research services:

“The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) operates and maintains a secure Army data collection site where the contractor will report ALL contractor manpower (including subcontractor manpower) required for performance of this contract. The contractor is required to completely fill in all the information in the format using the following web address: https://ww.ecrma.mil/Default.aspx The required information includes: (1) Contracting Office, Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative; (2) Contract number, including task and delivery order number; (3) Beginning and ending dates covered by reporting period; (4) Contractor name, address, phone number, e-mail address, identity of contractor employee entering data; (5) Estimated direct labor hours (including sub-contractors); (6) Estimated direct labor dollars paid this reporting period (including sub-contractors); (7) Total payments (including sub-contractors); (8) Predominant Federal Service Code (FSC) reflecting services provided by contractor (and separate predominant FSC for each sub-contractor if different); (9) Estimated data collection cost; (10) Organizational title associated with the Unit Identification Code (UIC) for the Army Requiring Activity (the Army Requiring Activity is responsible for providing the contractor with its UIC for the purposes of reporting this information); (11) Locations where contractor and sub-contractors perform the work (specified by zip code in the United States and nearest city, country, when in an overseas https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/ https://ww.ecrma.mil/Default.aspx location, using standardized nomenclature provided on website); (12) Presence of deployment or contingency contract language: and (13) Number of contractor and sub- contractor employees deployed in theater this reporting period (by country). As part of its submission, the contractor will also provide the estimated total cost (if any) incurred to comply with this reporting requirement. Reporting period will be the period of performance not to exceed 12 months ending 30 September of each government fiscal year and must be reported by 31 October of each calendar year. Contractors may use a direct XML data transfer to the database server or fill in the fields on the website. The XML direct transfer is a format for transferring files from a contractor’s systems to the secure web site without the need for separate data entries for each required data element at the web site. The specific formats for the XML direct transfer may be downloaded from the web site.”

SECTION 2 - GENERAL INFORMATION

A. AWARDS:

With the submittal of all required information as described herein and the favorable evaluation of your proposal, the Government may unilaterally make award; therefore, it is in the Contractor’s best interest to review all requirements listed within. Note that contract clauses are self-deleting; therefore, there is neither a requirement nor need for a modification to the award if any clause is found not applicable. Performance after the receipt of an award signed by the Contracting Officer indicates your full acceptance of all terms and conditions within the award.

Awards will be made on SF-33, SF-26, DD-1155, or other document as appropriate.

Offerors shall provide a completed Attachment C with their technical and cost proposals.

Awards will consist of all applicable clauses and contracts shall be in accordance with the Uniform Contract Format (UCF), which follows:

SECTION A- SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM SF 33

SECTION B- SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COST

ITEM 1- Perform all work necessary for research and development efforts in accordance with Contractor’s proposal dated , entitled , submitted under BAA Topic No. .

SECTION C- DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

SECTION D (Packaging and Marking)

SECTION E (Inspection and Acceptance)

SECTION F (Deliveries or Performance)

SECTION G (Contract Administration Data)

SECTION H (Special Contract Requirements)

SECTION I (Contract Clauses). Note: If award is made unilaterally, offeror agrees to clauses mentioned within this notice for their particular contract type.

B. REPORT REQUIREMENTS:

The number and types of reports will be specified in the contractual document. The reports will be prepared and submitted in accordance with ERDC report procedures which will be provided to the awardees.

C. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION:

Proposals should be submitted with a completed Attachment C, as stated in paragraph A of this Section, and also a signed and dated SF-33 available at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116254

SECTION 3 - TYPE OF CONTRACT

Selection of the type of contract is based upon various factors, such as the type of student research services to be performed, the contractor's experience in maintaining cost records, and the ability to detail and allocate proposed costs and performance of the work.

A document commonly used because of its suitability in supporting research is a cost-reimbursable type contract. It permits some flexibility in the redirection of efforts due to recent research experiment results or changes in Army guidance.

Fixed-price contracts are used when the research projects costs can be estimated accurately, the services to be rendered are reasonably definite, and the amount of property, if any, is fixed. The negotiated price is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the Contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract.

Contracts awarded by ERDC will contain, where appropriate, detailed special provisions concerning patent rights, rights in technical data and computer software, reporting requirements, equal employment opportunity, etc.

This BAA affords the offeror the option of submitting proposals for the award of a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction. However, the type of agreement may change based on the nature of the effort and as a result of negotiation.

A grant or cooperative agreement will be used only when the principal purpose of a transaction is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute.

Contracts will be used when the principal purpose is acquisition of property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Federal Government. The statutory criterion for choosing between grants and cooperative agreements is that for the latter, substantial involvement is expected between the agency and recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated in the agreement.

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116254

SECTION 4 - CONTENTS OF PRE-PROPOSAL

Pre-proposals will not exceed five pages and will state the Topic Number under which they are being submitted. The pre-proposal should contain the following: (in addition to the Representations and Certifications at Attachment C)

1. A title descriptive of the research to be performed.

2. The name and address of the individual, company or Educational institution submitting the pre-proposal (to include the email address).

3. The name and phone number of the principal investigator or senior researcher who would be in charge of the project.

4. The duration of the project.

5. The detailed estimated cost (i.e., labor costs, material costs, burdens, etc.).

6. Statements describing the objective(s) or goal(s) of the working hypothesis to be proved or disproved, if appropriate.

7. Statements describing one or more paragraphs describing the technical approach to be taken in the course of the research. If experimental, it should include a description of the scope of the testing program. If analytical, it should include key assumptions to be made, the scientific basis for the analysis, and the numerical procedures to be used.

8. Statements describing one or more paragraphs describing the potential military and/or civil payoffs that might ultimately derive from the proposed research to the Corps of Engineers.

9. A one-page curriculum vitae of the principal investigator.

10. If a cooperative agreement or grant is contemplated, a description of how the principal purpose of the research effort supports or stimulates a public purpose and, if applicable, the substantial involvement by the government. See Part III, Pre-Proposal and Proposal Preparation, Section 3 - Type of Contract.

11. A one page Executive Summary describing the background, scope of work, deliverables, and total proposed price (no cost breakdown is required in the executive summary). The executive summary shall not contain any sensitive data or proprietary information and is excluded from the pre-proposal page limitation of five pages.

SECTION 5 - CONTENTS OF FULL PROPOSAL

TECHNICAL

The technical portion of the proposal will contain the following and any other information the offeror considers necessary to address the evaluation criteria:

1. A complete discussion stating the background and objectives of the proposed work, the approaches to be considered, the proposed level of effort, and the anticipated results/products, to include the proposed reports and deliverables to be furnished.

2. A recommended Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, which includes proposed methods for the Government to evaluate performance and determine that the deliverables (results/products/reports, etc.) are properly executed.

3. The names, brief biographical information, and experience of the offeror's key personnel who will be involved in the research.

4. The names of other agencies to which the proposal has also been submitted.

5. A brief description of offeror's organization, to include name, address, phone numbers, and email address.

6. Past performance information to include the name, address, point of contact, phone number, email address, contract identification number, contract award date and amount for a minimum of three (3) customers for whom the offeror has performed similar services in the last three years.

7. A one page Executive Summary describing the background, scope of work, deliverables, and total proposed price (no cost breakdown is required in the Executive Summary). The Executive Summary shall not contain any sensitive data or proprietary information.

COST

The cost portion of the proposal will contain a cost estimate for the proposed effort sufficiently detailed by element of cost for meaningful evaluation. The estimate will be detailed for each task of the proposed work and should include the following:

1. A complete detail of direct labor to include, by discipline, hours or percentage of time and salary.

2. Fringe benefits rate and base.

3. An itemized list of equipment showing cost of each item.

4. Description and cost of expendable supplies.

5. Complete detail of travel to include reason/need for travel, destination, airfare, per diem, rental car, etc.

6. Complete detail of any subcontracts.

7. Other direct costs (reproduction, computer, etc.).

8. Indirect cost rates and bases with an indication whether rates are fixed or provisional and the time frame to which they are applied.

9. Proposed fee, if any.

10. Any documentation which supports the above.

11. Offerors will furnish the name and telephone number of their cognizant audit agency.

PART IV: RESEARCH INTERESTS

Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)

A. CERL 19-1

Facilities Division - Engineering Processes Branch Champaign, Illinois

1. Discipline(s): Civil Engineering, Architecture

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD):

3. Contact: Mariangelica Carrasquillo-Mangual, 217-373-3344

4. Description of Research:

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: Researchers in the

Engineering Processes Branch are engaged in studies to evaluate federal agencies’ process to utilize facility and equipment data collected during design and construction to populate downstream systems use for facility operations and maintenance. This effort supports ERDC missions of developing innovative technologies to solve nation’s challenging engineering problems. Research in this area includes evaluation and demonstration of newly developed approaches to populate SMS BUILDER with data included in BIM and/or collected during construction.

b. Sample Tasks: Tasks on this scope include studying and understanding use of custom database function on the Autodesk Revit Classification Manager Add-Ins Tool. This task involves basic knowledge of classification systems and Autodesk Revit. Another task on this scope is to develop and/or review a Facility Data Workbook (FDW), a specific Microsoft excel format, for facilities included in pilot studies. These tasks might involve travel to installations to verify data accuracy.

5. Sample Deliverables: Individual deliverables may be an oral presentation of work completed, a digital copy of the presentation, bi-weekly progress reports, and a closing meeting with the Principal Investigator.

6. Sample Period of Performance: Academic Semester, i.e., Summer Semester, Fall Semester

B. CERL 19-2

Installations Division - Ecological Processes Branch

1. Discipline(s):

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): BS

3. Contact: Heidi R. Howard, 217-373-5865

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The Soil and Water Team is engaged in multi-disciplinary research and decision support related to sustainable range and environmental management for risk and impact analysis. This effort sustains the CERL mission of Sustainable Range Lands to support warfighter and training requirements. Research in this area includes developing, characterizing, and modeling training doctrine linkages to maneuver capability and ultimate impact of military vehicles on training lands.

b. Sample Tasks: The first task of this scope is to utilize remotely sensed data to evaluate maneuver capability in relation to range configuration and other indicators (soil and vegetation resiliency, slope, vehicle dynamic properties, vegetation density, etc.). The task involves analysis of remote data followed by field evaluations that will require travel and handling materials with weights of up to 30 lb. This task will require that experiments be set up and executed by the end of June. The second task will be to process all the experimental and numerical data to develop a model to evaluate the field conditions with training doctrine and physical/dynamic vehicle properties to determine land capability (red/amber/ green).

5. Sample Deliverables: Individual deliverables will be an oral presentation of work meeting with the Principal Investigator.

6. Period of Performance: Academic Semester, i.e., Summer Semester, Fall Semester

C. CERL 19-3

Installations Division - Environmental Processes Branch

1. Discipline: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): Graduate student (BS)

3. Contact: Ahmet Soylemezoglu, 217-373-3481

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The Robotics for Engineer Operations Team is engaged in multi-disciplinary research and decision support related to military engineering. This effort sustains the ERDC mission of support to the combat engineer. Research in this area includes Digital signal processing, sensor data fusion and machine learning, and model simulation.

b. Sample Tasks:

1. Digital signal processing, sensor data fusion, and machine learning: The student will assist in development of methodologies to fuse multi-modal sensor data into a dynamic world view for path planning, navigation, obstacle detection and avoidance for robotic ground vehicles.

2. Agent-based modeling and simulation: Student will assist in the development of an agent-based simulation environment in order to investigate methodologies that will enable the coordination and collaboration of multiple ground vehicle robots performing complex tasks within a controlled environment.

D. CERL 19-4

Installations Division Environmental Processes Branch

1. Discipline: Computer Engineering or Computer Science with knowledge in cross-platform development, modern programming languages, user interface, Microsoft Office (specifically Excel), and interest in environmental processes. Education or experience with app development and database management strongly desired.

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): Junior/senior undergraduate or graduate student strongly preferred.

3. Principal Investigator: Angela Urban, 217-373-4421

4. Description of Work:

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The Source Reduction and

Resource Resilience (SR3) Team is engaged in multi-disciplinary research and decision support related to installation environmental management, contingency operations, and disaster response. This effort sustains the ERDC mission of sustainability practices on U.S. Army installations. Research in this area encompasses pollution prevention and waste management topic areas.

b. Sample Tasks: This scope is to conduct laboratory and field testing to evaluate the compatibility between IM process waters and water handling materials. Both existing and prospective materials will be systematically challenged with representative process waters. Material investigations will include optical and electron microscopy, X-ray Diffraction analysis and interpretation, and gravimetric analysis.

Chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis will be performed in order to determine the effects of these materials on the process water constituents on a chemical level.

The task involves field evaluations that will require travel and handling materials with weights of up to 50 pounds.

meeting with the Principal Investigator.

Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL)

A. CHL 19-1

Navigation Division Harbors, Entrances, and Structures Branch Vicksburg, Mississippi

1. Discipline: Civil Engineering

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): MS

3. Contact:

Dr. Norberto C. Nadal Caraballo Office: 601-634-2008 Email: Norberto.C.Nadal-Caraballo@usace.army.mil

Name: Efrain Ramos-Santiago Office: 601-634-2775 Email: Efrain.Ramos-Santiago@usace.army.mil

a. ERDC Mission Area & Support to ERDC Mission: The effort sustains ERDC mission by conducting research to quantify the vulnerability of coastal areas to flooding hazards. Storm surge typically represents the most significant source of flooding in the coastal environment. Currently coastal flood hazard assessment is performed through the use of probabilistic storm surge models, such as the Joint Probability Method with Optimal Sampling (JPM-OS) which has become the standard-of-practice for quantifying flooding hazards of hurricane-prone coastal sites.

b. Sample Tasks: The main objective of the proposed study is to evaluate available techniques for representing the vortex structure of historical tropical cyclones (TCs) in the North Atlantic basin. The vortex is commonly characterized through wind and pressure relationships as profiles and fields. This project consist of the following sample tasks summarized below. Tasks also require the use of MATLAB, development of new software code, and knowledge of probability and statistical concepts.

mailto:Norberto.C.Nadal-Caraballo@usace.army.mil mailto:Efrain.Ramos-Santiago@usace.army.mil

B. CHL 19-2

Navigation Division Harbors, Entrances, and Structures Branch

1. Discipline: Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): BS, MS

3. Contact:

Name: Victor M. Gonzalez Office: (601) 634-3006 Email: Victor.M.Gonzalez@usace.army.mil

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The effort sustains ERDC mission by conducting research to assess the performance of coastal rubble mound structures that are part of the Nation’s navigation infrastructure. Coastal structures play a central role within the USACE’s mission to provide protection to waterborne transportation systems such as harbors and waterways.

b. Sample Tasks: The main objective of the work is to develop generalized relia-bility computation tools for primary failure modes including wave runup, overtopping, seaside stability, leeside stability, and damage progression for rubble mound structures.

This information will improve design guidance and is essential for coastal structures asset management funding prioritization. Specific project tasks include extraction of cross sections from LIDAR data and Digital Elevation Models. Write and edit MATLAB scripts to process wave and water level data, perform statistical analyses, and perform computation of failure modes previously described. Apply scripts at multiple locations.

Tasks require proficiency in MATLAB, ArcGIS or QGIS experience, basic knowledge of probability and statistical concepts, and familiarity with the application of coastal and/or hydraulic engineering design concepts in a coastal environment.

mailto:Victor.M.Gonzalez@usace.army.mil

Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL)

A. GSL 19-1

Engineering Systems and Materials Division

1. Discipline:

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): MS or PhD

Name: Charles A. Weiss, Jr. (GSL) Phone: (601) 634-3928

Name: Steven L. Larson (EL) Office: 601-634-3431

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: Changes in the formulations of munitions have affected the military infrastructure as existing manufacturing facilities are used for producing munitions with new materials. The compatibility between solutions containing advanced munitions and the materials used for the construction of process water systems at Army Ammunition Plants must be determined and appropriate materials identified for systems modernization. The GSL/EL Insensitive Munitions team is engaged in multi-disciplinary research and decision support related to materials capability for these Army Ammunition Plants.

This effort supports the Warfighter by ensuring that they are supplied with the safest and most effective munitions in order for them to meet their mission objectives safety.

b. Sample Tasks: The first task will be literature review and characterization experiments on new constituent materials for composite mixture design. Mixture proportioning will then be conducted using multiple trial mixtures, and physical test specimens will be created. Property evaluations will be conducted on physical specimens to assess the feasibility of the trial mixture designs. Multiple cycles of trial mixture designs, creation of physical specimens, and evaluation of specimens will likely be required to formulate relationships between new constituent materials and final properties. Activities will be documented in a final report.

meeting with the Principal Investigator.

B. GSL 19-2

Airfield and Pavements Branch

1. Discipline: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

3. Contact: Haley Bell, 601-634-3602

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC mission: The objective of the

Expeditionary Airfield Damage Repair (E-ADR) program is to develop and transition capabilities to rapidly repair damaged airfield pavements to support limited aircraft sortie generation for short duration missions at dynamic base locations. The Airfields and Pavements Branch of ERDC has been tasked to develop, test, and demonstrate an expeditionary crater repair process on asphalt and concrete pavements.

One of the capabilities needed to accomplish the E-ADR objective is upheaval removal/excavation of damaged pavement. Larger munitions produce craters that extend through the pavement surface into the foundation layers and can produce significant upheaval of the adjacent pavement surface. Since aircraft gear are sensitive to roughness, it is important that any significant amounts of upheaved pavement be remedied so that the repaired surface meets threshold roughness limits for aircraft operations.

b. Sample Tasks: The first task of this scope is to conduct full-scale field evaluations of various technologies that have the potential to expeditiously cut out and excavate damaged pavement. The task involves outdoor field evaluations of construction equipment at ERDC in Vicksburg, MS, and at ERDC’s test site in Fort Polk, LA. All necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided. The second task will be to process and document all experimental data to evaluate the different technologies and down-select the best options for meeting the operational mission of E-ADR.

C. GSL 19-3

Airfields and Pavements Branch

1. Discipline: Civil Engineering (preferred), Mechanical Engineering (second)

3. Contact: Mariely Mejias-Santiago, 601-634-2709

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The Expedient Airfield Damage Repair (E-ADR) team has the objective of developing a set of low logistics expeditionary capabilities to execute airfield runway repair enabling recovery operations by re-using damaged pavement materials supplemented with indigenous materials to create a light, lean capability. E-ADR provides an asymmetric advantage that supports our force projection mission by efficiently mitigating damage to allow aircraft sortie generation through a logistically lean approach. This program consists of four main spirals to develop the package of technologies required: (1) damage area cutoff and excavation, (2) backfill, (3) capping, and (4) repair assessment. This SOW will be focused on Spiral 2 (backfill).

b. Sample Tasks: The first task of this scope is to conduct laboratory and field testing to evaluate different materials and methods that can be used for runway repair backfill.

The task involves field evaluations under extreme weather conditions (heat) and around construction equipment. All the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided. The second task will be to process and document all the experimental data to evaluate the different technologies and down-select the best options for E-ADR.

meeting with the Principal Investigator.

D. GSL 19-4

Concrete and Materials Branch

1. Discipline: Civil Engineering (cementitious and concrete materials)

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): MS or PhD

3. Contact: Jay Shannon, 601-634-2218

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: Modeling, characterization, and modernization of cementitious and concrete based materials is currently a key area of research interest for civil and military engineering. This effort continues the ERDCs focus on materials-by-design and non-traditional cementitious mixtures.

Research of this nature includes characterization of composite materials, formulation of materials mixture designs, and experimental evaluation of final properties.

b. Sample Tasks: Initial tasks will consist of literature review and characterization of constituent materials for composite mixture designs. Focus will be on cementitious materials and composites thereof. Mixture proportioning and creation of physical test specimens will be conducted to evaluate properties of interest. Computational modeling of expected properties will be carried out using multiple newly developed programs utilizing chemical and thermal based reaction models. Model accuracies will be determined by comparing computational properties to measured physical properties. Activities will be documented in a final report.

meeting with the Principal Investigator.

E. GSL 19-5

1. Discipline: Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry or Physics

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): Upper Level Undergraduate BS

3. Contact: Travis L. Thornell, 601-634-4234

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: This research supports high performance material development in Military Engineering. The research will assist in work in an ongoing 6.1 basic research project.

b. Sample Tasks: The main tasks are to synthesize and characterize magneto-rheological polymeric materials to support Military Engineering basic research.

Characterization will focus on using a shear rheometer equipped with a magneto-rheological device to understand changes in flow behavior and stiffening of the material when exposed to an applied external field. The goal of this work is to develop understanding of how tunable material properties can be with and without an applied magnetic field. Materials will range from polymer solutions to elastomers and gels with embedded magnetic particles.

meeting with the Principal Investigator.

F. GSL 19-6

1. Discipline: Geologist or Materials Scientist with Experience in Materials Characterization

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): BS or MS

3. Contact: Cody M. Strack, 601-634-7442

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The effort sustains ERDC mission by conducting research to quantify the vulnerability of coastal areas to flooding hazards. Storm surge typically represents the most significant source of flooding in the coastal environment. Currently coastal flood hazard assessment is performed through the use of probabilistic storm surge models, such as the Joint Probability Method with Optimal Sampling (JPM-OS) which has become the standard-of-practice for quantifying flooding hazards of hurricane-prone coastal sites.

b. Sample Tasks: The main objective of the proposed study is to evaluate available techniques for representing the vortex structure of historical tropical cyclones (TCs) in the North Atlantic basin. The vortex is commonly characterized through wind and pressure relationships as profiles and fields. This project consist of the following sample tasks summarized below. Tasks also require the use of MATLAB, development of new software code, and knowledge of probability and statistical concepts.

meeting with the Principal Investigator.

G. GSL 19-7

Impact and Explosions Effects Branch

1. Discipline: Student must possess a good background in statistics and data analysis.

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): Graduate student

3. Contact:

Name: Jasiel Ramos Office: 601-634-4586

Name: Ernesto Cruz Office: 601-634-3402

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The student will be working on the Forensic Encyclopedia Project which encompasses several efforts involved with the evaluation of weapon signatures against various armor targets or witness items to provide a better post-attack assessment of the actual threat.

b. Sample Tasks:

• Data analysis and interpretation

• Database input and evaluation

• Analysis of photographs using photogrammetric software tools

• Assisting with experiment preparation and execution

• Collection of field data meeting with the Principal Investigator.

H. GSL 19-8

Impact and Explosions Effects Branch

1. Discipline:

2. Typical Academic Level (BS, MS, PhD): Upper-Level Undergraduate

Name: Jasiel Ramos Office: 601-634-4586 Name: Ernesto Cruz Office: 601-634-3402

a. ERDC Mission Area(s) & Support to ERDC Mission: The student will be working on the Forensic Encyclopedia Project which encompasses several efforts involved with the evaluation of weapon signatures against various armor targets or witness items to provide a better post-attack assessment of the actual threat.

b. Sample Tasks:

• Data analysis and interpretation

• Database input and evaluation

• Analysis of photographs using photogrammetric software tools

• Assisting with experiment preparation and execution

• Collection of field data meeting with the Principal Investigator.

I. GSL 19-9

Geosciences and Structures Division Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences Branch

1.…