A Brief History of ERT

ERT was founded in 1993 when Dr. Peter Li began applying his scientific training in geophysics to the practical problems of locating munitions and explosives of concern, sub-surface voids, and structures with the potential to cause environmental or construction hazards.

Dr. Jingli Yang joined Dr. Li in 2001 to provide mission-oriented scientific and data systems services at NASA and NOAA—integrating remote sensing science data with in situ-collected data to create models and developing software and data systems to optimize scientific data analysis, data management, and data dissemination.

Since 2003, ERT has achieved listings on multiple GSA schedules and other government- and agency-wide vehicles to better serve our growing customer base. In 2006, ERT won its first 100+ person contract with NOAA and continued to grow rapidly while maintaining excellent standards of performance. ERT crossed the 500-employee threshold in 2017.

In early 2018, ERT expanded our support to the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Our AFRL work includes space weather modeling and analysis, software development, and Cloud implementation.

In 2021, ERT was awarded the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Operations, Maintenance, and Sustainment (OMS) contract—a huge win for the company. This brought on more than 300 new employees and secured ERTs position as a leader in providing science, engineering, and technology services to the U.S. Federal government.

ERT celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023.

In 2024, ERT received a major investment from Macquarie Capital, marking a new chapter for the company. Macquarie will help ERT continue its strong pattern of sustained growth and expand its capabilities into new areas. With this investment, ERT brought on Mark Lee, a recognized leader in the Federal services market, as CEO to lead the next phase of growth for the company. Jingli and Peter remain actively involved with the company, with their roles shifting to a greater focus on client engagement and strategy.

Leadership Team

Sustainability Policy

It is the policy of ERT to perform internal operations and client services in a way that preserves and restores the planet’s ecosystem for the needs of life on Earth, is equitable, and is financially viable in the long term. The goals of this policy are to improve ERT’s sustainability, foster an employee culture that values sustainability both in and out of the workplace, and to improve the communities in which we operate. ERT will demonstrate sustainability embedded in our values and mission by:

• Measuring the environmental impact of ERT’s activities, including setting goals for improvement, continually improving, and reporting progress to ERT leadership and employees
• Incorporating sustainable best practices throughout ERT’s operations and business activities to minimize ERT’s environmental impact
• Encouraging and supporting sustainable practices with ERT’s employees, subcontractors, clients, and communities
• Incorporating climate resiliency into business operations to account for climate-related events
• Modeling best practices for compliance with environmental laws to clients and government entities

ERT will plan to reach net-zero emissions of global warming gases by 2030 through deeply reducing emissions and counterbalancing the impact of any remaining emissions.