Dave is a founder of Albus & Associates and has over 38 years of experience in a variety of geotechnical investigations and earthwork construction projects that have included large-scale mass grading, water/waste water facilities and conveyance, mid-rise structures, residential and commercial structures, transportation corridors, golf courses and entertainment facilities, distress investigations, and small earth dams.
He has dealt with complex geotechnical conditions such as extensive peat beds, hydraulic fills, tie-back and cantilever shoring systems, surcharge and sand drain systems, landslides, liquefaction mitigation, and slope stabilization.
Dave regularly provides guidance on geotechnical parameters for design of shallow and deep foundations, retaining walls, shoring, pavements, trenched and bored underground utilities, and remedial and general earthwork construction. He is regularly sought after for his opinions related to causes of distress, methods of mitigation and repair, and offers expert testimony for litigation matters. Dave’s also been very active in the testing and evaluation of infiltration systems for storm water quality management since 2006 and has overseen hundreds of investigations for design of WQMP throughout southern California. He has given numerous presentations to civil and geotechnical engineers regarding the proper methods to perform infiltration testing and data analysis for design. He has set the gold standard for design of drywells and drywell systems.
Dave earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering, with a major in Geotechnical Engineering from The Ohio State University. He has also taken a variety of short courses in the areas of slope design fundamentals and in the evaluation and mitigation of seismic hazards from universities around the U.S.
Some might say that Geotechnical Engineering is a combination of art and science. The “fuzzy” world of geotechnics requires an ability to feel the behavior of earth materials since they are the most complicated material commonly used in construction. Dave’s scholastic education in the sciences and his love and skill of the arts, makes him uniquely qualified for the geotechnical field allowing for more “creative” solutions.
In his off-hours, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife and four adult children, often tasked with a myriad of handyman projects in either his own home or one of theirs. He occasionally tinkles the ivories, with a passion for tunes he plays from his teen years in rock bands and enjoys cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes and Pittsburgh Steelers during football season.