The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) are the Department of Defense's environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water research programs, harnessing the latest science and technology to improve DoD’s environmental performance, reduce costs, and enhance and sustain mission capabilities. The Programs respond to environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water technology requirements that are common to all of the Military Services, complementing the Services’ research programs. SERDP and ESTCP promote partnerships and collaboration among academia, industry, the Military Services, and other Federal Agencies. They are independent programs managed from a joint office to coordinate the full spectrum of efforts, from basic and applied research to field demonstration and validation.
SERDP is the DoD’s environmental and resilience science and technology program, planned and executed in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with participation by numerous other federal and non-federal organizations. SERDP invests across a broad spectrum of basic and applied research, as well as advanced development.
ESTCP is the DoD’s environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water technology demonstration and validation program. The Program was established in 1995 to promote the transfer of innovative technologies that have successfully established proof of concept to field or production use. ESTCP demonstrations collect cost and performance data to overcome the barriers to employ an innovative technology because of concerns regarding technical or programmatic risk, the so-called “Valley of Death.”
Contacts
SERDP and ESTCP are independent programs that are jointly managed on behalf of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations and Environment). The joint office is located in Alexandria, VA. In this joint program structure, the management staff has insight into the entire range of scientific and technical issues associated with an environmental problem, from basic research questions through implementation.
The director, deputy director, five program managers, and financial officer for both programs are located in this joint office. All SERDP and ESTCP projects are managed within six Program Areas.
SERDP and ESTCP Office
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy Resilience & Optimization)
3500 Defense Pentagon, RM 5C646
Washington, DC 20301-3500
Leadership
Dr. Kimberly Yearick Spangler, Executive Director
Phone: (571) 372-6565
Dr. Kimberly Yearick Spangler is the Executive Director at SERDP and ESTCP. In this position, she leads the Department’s research and development investment for installation energy and the environment. This includes responsibility for the budget, strategy, and management of a substantial research portfolio that encompasses installation resilience, environmental cleanup, pollution prevention, UXO remediation, resource conservation, and the sustainment and maintenance of defense weapons and platforms.
Prior to her current position, Dr. Spangler served as the Program Manager, OUSD(Research & Engineering) Joint Department of Defense/Department of Energy Munitions Program (JMP) and was responsible for leading the JMP in developing and exploring advanced munitions concepts and enabling technologies by preeminent scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy Nuclear Weapons Laboratories.
Dr. Spangler is a trained high explosives formulation chemist and has previously worked as a civilian at both the US Army DEVCOM Armaments Center and the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL). A recipient of the prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Fellowship, Dr. Spangler holds a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech (summa cum laude) and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Georgetown University.
Kimberly lives on a sustainable flower farm with her husband, Ryan, son, Bo, daughter, Liv, and an ever-growing number of farm animals. She is grateful for her community, inside and outside the Pentagon, who have consistently empowered her to live a life full of purpose. Kimberly believes that acceptance, inclusivity and collaboration are necessary drivers for accomplishing great work. She strives to create these conditions for those around her so they can live a life both rich in service and in fun.
Dr. Andrea Leeson, Deputy Director and Environmental Restoration Program Manager
Phone: (571) 372-6565
Email: er@noblis.org
Dr. Andrea Leeson has been the Program Manager for Environmental Restoration at SERDP and ESTCP since 2001 and the Deputy Director since 2015. Prior to her time at SERDP and ESTCP, she was a Research Scientist at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH. She has specialized in developing in situ treatment technologies for contaminated groundwater. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University.
Kevin Hiers, Resource Conservation & Resilience Program Manager and Climate Resilience Program Manager
Phone: (571) 372-6401
Email: rc@noblis.org, cr@noblis.org
Kevin Hiers is the Program Manager for Resource Conservation and Resilience and Climate Resilience at SERDP and ESTCP. Kevin brings nearly 30 years of experience at the interface of natural resource management and science. His academic and management background have focused on fire ecology, conservation of threatened and endangered species, and the science support of prescribed fire modeling to meet ecosystem management objectives. His management experience has included fire ecologist, prescribed fire program manager, and wildland fire program manager at Eglin AFB, and he was a state fire program manager with The Nature Conservancy. His research appointments have included private sector positions at Tall Timbers Research Station and The Jones Ecological Research Center. He most recently served as Deputy Wildland Fire Science Coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey.
Tim Tetreault, Installation Energy & Water Program Manager
Phone: (571) 372-6397
Email: ew@noblis.org
Tim Tetreault has been the Program Manager for Installation Energy and Water at ESTCP since 2015. Prior to his time at ESTCP, he was a Project Lead at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) where he led technical and financial analysis of energy projects for clients including DoD and federal, state and local agencies. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Dr. John La Scala, Weapons Systems & Platforms Program Manager
Phone: (301) 875-1270
Email: wp@noblis.org
Dr. John La Scala is the Program Manager for Weapons Systems and Platforms at SERDP and ESTCP and is a polymeric materials and manufacturing expert at DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory (ARL). He served as the Army Pollution Prevention Co-Chair from 2011-2022. He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia in 1997 and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware in 2002.
Throughout his career, Dr. La Scala has continued his work in bio-based thermosetting resins, where he now has 25 years of experience. Since joining ARL, he has expanded his work to thermosetting resins for adhesives and coatings and environmentally friendly polymers for composites, adhesives, coatings, and additive manufacturing applications. His scientific advances are evidenced by over 100 open literature publications, while his ability to innovate are demonstrated by his numerous patents and his ability to transition new technology to the field and commercial industry. Dr. La Scala has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work on polymers including being Inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2018, co-recipient of 2013 Presidential Green Chemistry and Engineering Challenge Award for Renewable Thermosets, 2011 Secretary of Defense Environmental Excellence in Weapon System Acquisition - Small Program award, RDECOM Environmental Acquisition and Logistics Sustainment Program (EALSP) Sustainable Painting Operations for the Total Army (SPOTA) project, and 2010 ESTCP Weapons Platform Project of the Year, Demonstration of Composites with Low Hazardous Air Pollutant Contents for Military Applications.
John Jackson, Munitions Response Program Manager
John Jackson is the Program Manager for Munitions Response at SERDP and ESTCP and is a geophysicist with the Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise (EMCX), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). He has 20 years of experience in the environmental and munitions response geophysics field in both the government and private sectors. His focus on electromagnetic techniques for munitions response led him to being an early adopter of advanced geophysical classification technologies through the ESTCP Live Site Demonstration Program.
Prior to his current position, he served as the Program Manager for the DoD Advanced Geophysical Classification Accreditation Program (DAGCAP). He is also a past president of the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society where he pushed for further communication between disciplines to further adopt geophysical minimum quality control standards. Through these roles, he has provided technical support to the Intergovernmental Data Quality Task Force (IDQTF), Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), Environmental Data Quality Workgroup (EDQW), DAGCAP, and the Munitions Response Dialogue (MRD).
