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Ragon to chair USSD Committee on Public Awareness

Published Oct. 26, 2007

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Rebecca Ragon, a technical editor at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) Alexandria, Va., was recently selected as chair of the Committee on Public Awareness for the U.S. Society on Dams (USSD).

In this position, Ragon will be responsible for promoting public awareness of the role dams play in the management of the nation’s water resources. The USSD goals are to advance knowledge of dam engineering, construction, planning, operation, performance, rehabilitation, decommissioning, maintenance, security and safety.

Currently, Ragon manages the National Inventory of Dams (NID) database. The NID contains information on approximately 79,000 dams throughout the United States that are more than 25 feet high, hold at least 50 acre-feet of water, or are considered a significant hazard if they fail. The database is maintained and published by USACE with information from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and 16 federal agencies.

Ragon is a recipient of the 2003 ERDC Director’s Award for Outstanding Team Effort and the TEC Director’s Award for Team Excellence for the successful development and implementation of the Inland Electronic Navigation Charts (IENC) project. The IENC benefits safety of navigation on highly used and important U.S. inland waterways. She is also a recipient of the 2003 ERDC Director’s Award for Outstanding Team Effort as a member of the Terrain Analysis Support Team for Operation Iraqi Freedom-Intelligence and Security Command. The team was recognized for providing urgent terrain analysis support over weapons of mass destruction/sensitive sites of interest to the U.S. Army.

Ragon earned a bachelor’s in history from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). She is a member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials which works to improve dam safety in the United States.

The ERDC is the premier research and development facility for the Corps of Engineers. It consists of seven laboratories at four geographical sites, with more than 2,000 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities, and an annual research program approaching $700 million. It conducts research in both military and civil works mission areas for the Department of Defense and the nation.


Release no. 07-003