The U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center has announced the promotion of two employees and the appointment of a third to participate in a Department of Defense management and leadership training program.

According to information from ERDC, Bartley P. Durst has been named director of the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory at the Vicksburg campus, and Lucy P. Priddy was named associate technical director for the Military Engineering branch at the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory. Amber Huell, an accountant in the Finance and Accounting Division, was selected to participate in the next class of the Defense Civilian Emerging Leader Program.

Durst has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Mississippi State University.

He began his career at ERDC in 1983 as a research civil engineer intern in the environmental laboratory of the former Waterways Experiment Station.

Before his appointment as director, he was chief of Geosciences and Structures Division of GSL, where he was responsible four four branches — survivability engineering, structural engineering, structural mechanics and geotechnical engineering and geosciences, and oversaw more than 200 employees and a budget of $200 million.

He was also senior scientific technical manager, and was previously program manager of the ERDC Countermine/Counter

Improvised Explosive Device Phenomenology Program.

As GSL director, Durst is responsible for the development, direction and execution of strategic research programs within the $1 billion annual ERDC research portfolio.

He will mentor and lead multiple teams of research engineers and scientists in developing solutions involving programs in both military and civil applications. He will also be responsible for developing and advancing basic and applied research programs in areas of critical importance to major national and international programs.

Durst has authored or co-authored many technical reports and papers on force protection, material development, protective construction, camouflage, concealment and deception, and target detection, and has 13 patents from his work.

He is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and the International Society for Protective Structures and has received awards for his work at ERDC.

Priddy has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Mississippi, a master’s in civil engineering from Mississippi State University, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech University

She began her ERDC career as a research civil engineer in GSL’s Airfields and Pavements Branch, and in 2010 she served a six-month assignment as the ERDC liaison officer to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology.

For the past 10 months, she has served as acting associate technical director for the Military Engineering branch in GSL. She will assist in the planning, technical direction, financial management and execution of the ERDC’s Military Engineering direct allotted research programs and reimbursable efforts.

“I am excited to continue working in the technical director’s office. It has been both a rewarding and challenging experience, and I look forward to continuing to assist in the management of current and future Army direct-funded 6.1-6.3 research efforts,” she said.

Priddy is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and the Young Professionals in Transportation. She has written professional publications and has received an ERDC research and development achievement award.

Huell is a certified defense financial manager at ERDC, a certification achieved by successfully passing three rigorous tests in the area of financial management, in which individuals need a comprehensive knowledge of accounting, budget and manpower.

Admission to the Defense Civilian Emerging Leader Program is determined by a very competitive selection process. The DCELP is designed to develop the next generation of innovative leaders with the technical competence to meet the future leadership needs of the Department of Defense.

The DOD program focuses on developing emerging leaders in the acquisition, financial management and human resources communities, and consists of five residential courses, including leadership assessment team development, effective writing in the federal government, conflict resolution and leadership for non-supervisors.