First 75 Years: History of Hydraulics Engineering at the Waterways Experiment Station.

摘要

The history of hydraulics engineering at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) and its organizational successor, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), is an inspiring story. Seventy-five years ago, an Anny Engineer lieutenant carved a modest facility out of a creek bank in the wilderness near Vicksburg, Mississippi. Bom in controversy, within 20 years that facility was internationally known and led the world in some research areas. Seventy-five years later, it continues as a leader in many engineering fields and shows every evidence that it will remain so in the future. It has been a challenge to chronicle the evolution of WES. With the exception of the World War II era, a regular army officer served as the Station's chief administrator in the Corps of Engineers ' chain of command from 1930 through 1992. Yet, nearly all other employees were civilians, with civilians holding the vital post of WES Technical Director from 1940. WES, therefore, historically operated under a splendid mix of civilian and military leadership. In 1992, however, a restructuring of organizational roles placed the overall leadership of the laboratories under the WES Director- a civilian position, with the army officer serving as WES Commander and Deputy Director. In 1999, WES was absorbed into ERDC, which was headquartered at the WES site. The WES Director's position was converted into the ERDC Director's position, which was charged with overall responsibility for the new organization and was permanently filled in May 2000 by Dr. James R. Houston. A full civilian ERDC Deputy Director's position was established at ERDC's Alexandria, Virginia site, and was permanently filled in October 2001 by Dr. Walter F. Morrison, Jr.