Posted on August 5, 2024
VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has selected Dr. Robert Moser as the new director of the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). As director, Moser will lead a team of approximately 700 federal and contractor personnel who work in the areas of information technology, high-performance computing, data analytics, software engineering, scientific visualization and more. Additionally, he will oversee the Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program and serve as ERDC’s chief information officer.
Prior to being named director of ITL, Moser was a senior scientific technical manager in ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory, where he led program and organizational strategy development with a technical focus on material science, computational modeling, multi-physics modeling and sensing, asset management and advanced manufacturing.
Over the last 13 years, Moser has grown to be an expert in his field, helping to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges – but if it wasn’t for a little advice he received during high school, he might not even be here.
Originally from Stuart, Florida, Moser and his family moved to Georgia when he was a teenager. He worked as a carpenter part-time through high school and aimed to become a realtor and contractor, until his boss saw a different future for him and advised him to study engineering. After some encouragement, Moser attended the Georgia Institute of Technology to pursue a degree that would put his math and science skills to better use.
While working on his doctorate, Moser got involved in the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program, an educational and workforce development opportunity for students in STEM that is funded by the Department of Defense.
As a SMART scholar, Moser was connected to a sponsoring facility in Mississippi – ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) – which ultimately led him to make ERDC his home.
Moser met his wife, Jennifer, at ERDC when she was a researcher and today, she serves as a technical director in the Environmental Laboratory. Since neither is originally from Vicksburg, Moser said that over the years, their coworkers have become like family.
“A couple of days ago I saw one of my mentors at a stop sign and he got out of his car, came over to talk to me, and started asking about my family,” said Moser. “My work family has been the most rewarding thing to me, they have been very motivating and uplifting.”
When Moser first started his journey at ERDC, he used his unique background in large-scale structural engineering and modeling and material science and went to work to focused on the problem sets of GSL and other programs across the ERDC.
“Looking back, this was a great opportunity because I became one of the primary people that would operate a lot of the instruments where we would analyze the materials and do characterization, and GSL was one of the only facilities that execute that type of work at ERDC,” said Moser. “So, in this position, I was able to learn about all of ERDC’s missions and meet a lot of great people really quickly.”
Moser believes that everyone at ERDC has something valuable and unique to contribute, and it takes all of the ‘gears and cogs’ to accomplish the mission.
“People aren’t just here to do their work and go home. They are really excited about their mission,” said Moser. “There’s a spark inside of our people that is really unique.”
Throughout his career, Moser has had the opportunity to work alongside other experts in the field on interesting projects, such as a recent one that involved creating a 3D-printed component for a ship arrestor system at the Soo Locks facility in Michigan. A need arose to quickly replace a vintage component at a low cost, and Moser’s team answered the call, successfully creating a 12-foot-long metal component—the largest 3D-printed American civil works infrastructure part in the world.
“We didn’t do it for that reason, we just did it because that’s what the mission needed,” Moser said.
Moser added that some of the most exciting things that he has been a part of at ERDC involve helping people with the challenges that they face in their own projects.
“Whether it’s just an email or physically going to a project in the field, sometimes people need someone that is sharp in an area to help with something that they aren’t familiar with,” said Moser. “Just a little suggestion can help shape the whole trajectory of a big project.”
Former ITL Director Dr. David Horner, who retired earlier this year, was a mentor to Moser when they were both working at GSL. Moser expressed his gratitude to Horner for leading ITL saying – “I have big shoes to fill.”
Moser said, “I found his guidance and calm approach to every situation very inspiring, and I appreciate the time he spent with me so much.”
When asked what the future holds for ITL, Moser said, “It’s really exciting to think about because there are so many emerging technologies in the areas of information science, data science, computing, and artificial intelligence that are going to be embedded into every problem set that we can think of, including biomedical, infrastructure, military command and control, and even how we do business,” said Moser. “I believe that we are in the midst of a total revolution.”
ERDC’s mission is to solve the nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for the Army, Department of Defense, civilian agencies, and our Nation’s public good. Moser believes that the importance of that mission is only going to grow.
“We are already facing challenges with our economy, resilience of our infrastructure, our supply chain and geopolitical challenges in the world,” said Moser. “There’s never been a time that we need to stand up and do good work and support the mission like there is now.”
Moser also looks forward to working with ERDC leadership and others around the growth that is happening with the organization.
“While ERDC partners with industry and academic partners all over the world, I think what we are building in Vicksburg – this innovation ecosystem – is something we need to continue to foster,” said Moser. “I am excited to partner with community leaders to figure out what we need to do to continue building an industrial base and good jobs to support the work that ERDC is executing in our mission for the nation.”
