#43: Strengthening the joint force with mechanics-based pavement innovation

When most people think about the military being ready for the fight, they picture aircraft and vehicles, not the pavements beneath them. We talk with Dr. Jeremy Stache, a research civil engineer at ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, about why pavement science is essential to military mobility and power projection. Topics include the direct connection between pavement science and Army mobility (:52), the shift to mechanics-based models for pavement design (9:25), and the ability to model buried structures and risk (11:10). We also discuss how the research translates into helping commanders understand whether a runway is safe to use (17:43), how it supported the Army 250th Birthday parade (19:53), and how sensors and artificial intelligence will support next-generation decision making (24:51). Watch a video of this podcast on our website at PowerofERDCpodcast.org/43-pavement-research_video. For additional information, visit PowerofERDCpodcast.org/43-pavement-research_resources.