Protecting critical infrastructure starts at the surface. For ERDC researchers working in coatings science, that surface determines performance, longevity and cost.
Listen to Episode 65 to hear Brooke Divan discuss how coatings science supports infrastructure performance across the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. You can also watch the full interview.
BIO:
Brooke Divan is a Research Physical Scientist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, where she serves as Director of Field Relations for the Paint Technology Center. The Paint Technology Center is the Army’s Technical Center of Expertise for paints, coatings, corrosion prevention, coating specifications, field support, training, and quality assurance testing.
Brooke serves as the Army’s Subject Matter Expert for all Unified Facilities Guide Specifications in the 09 series related to coating infrastructure for Military and Civil Works applications and is the Preparing Activity for UFGS 09 97 02, Painting: Hydraulic Steel Structures. Her work supports the protection of critical infrastructure, including locks, dams, bridges, and hydraulic steel structures.
Since joining USACE in 2008 and the Paint Technology Center in 2013, Brooke has led efforts in coating research, specification development, quality assurance testing, field support, failure analysis, and workforce training. She fields approximately 700 technical inquiries annually and teaches USACE PROSPECT courses on paints, coatings, and corrosion.
Brooke is active in industry leadership through AMPP and MPI, currently serving as Chair of the AMPP Accreditation Program Committee and Government Liaison to the MPI Advisory Board. She previously served on AMPP’s inaugural Board of Directors and received the 2020 SSPC Women in Coatings Impact Award. Her awards also include multiple ERDC honors for operational support, program development, and STEM outreach.
Featured Publications and Technical Work:
- Small Expense, Big Reward – The Impact and Value of Quality Assurance Testing of Coatings for Hydraulic Steel Structures, SSPC 2016 Proceedings
- New Coatings in Research vs. Military Specified Coatings Used for Steel Structures, AMPP Annual Conference Proceedings
- Demonstration and Validation of Two-Coat High-Performance Coating System for Steel Structures in Corrosive Environments, ERDC-CERL Technical Report
- Corrosion Prevention via Generation of Iron-Magnesium Phosphate Deposition Coating, SSPC 2018 Proceedings
