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.

Mark’s key duties at Albus & Associates include geotechnical investigations, preparing geotechnical reports, and designing and analyzing foundations and retaining structures. Mark also performs soil observations and testing.

Mark obtained his B.S. in Civil Engineering, and M.S. in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on geotechnical engineering at California State University, Fullerton. He is an Eisenhower Transportation Fellow, which promotes innovative change in the fields of infrastructure. Mark maintains certifications in hazardous waste operations and emergency response and in OSHA 40.

The variety of projects, in particular their broad complexity and scope, is what Mark enjoys most about working at AAI. He also likes the seamless integration between the field and the office support, which allows him to see the overall picture of our work and support for our clients.

Mark and his wife have one daughter and share their home with their dog, Simba. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking, eating tacos, and watching the Lakers… but not all at the same time!

Dan performs field observations and inspections for rough grading projects and occasionally assists with drilling for investigation projects when required. He also contributes to efforts on fault investigations, which include coordination of trenching operations and the logging of trench walls after trench excavation and cleaning are complete.

Part of his role is helping with drafting various types of reports for AAI, including rough and post-grading reports, preliminary investigation reports, and investigation logs.

Dan earned his BS in Geology at California State University, Long Beach. He finds it very rewarding to know that the effort he makes on a day-to-day basis helps the company to produce top-notch products for every one of our clients, which helps foster a level of trust that is hard to come by and ensures great long-term professional relationships.

When not working, Dan loves spending time with his wife (and two awesome dogs), their families and travels whenever the opportunity arises, both internationally and within the U.S. He’s an avid health and fitness enthusiast, bordering on being obsessive! Dan loves to cook, dabbles in mixology at home, and is constantly working on developing his own recipes, getting inspiration for both food and drink from the new restaurants he frequents.

Danny is a Project Engineer with AAI and serves in a variety of roles at the company including Project Manager, Lab Manager, and Equipment Manager. He is tasked with maintaining current certifications for the company and applies his engineering expertise toward a multitude of residential and commercial development projects throughout Southern California.

In addition to his engineering responsibilities, Danny has been instrumental in developing AAI’s custom tools and applications using React, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, all of which have been crucial for internal project tracking and workgroup productivity.

Danny holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California State University Long Beach and is a native of Tustin, California.

Whenever the opportunity arises and time permits, Danny explores the world, seeking new and off-the-beaten path adventures. He has traveled through over 40 countries and speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, French, and is currently learning Portuguese.

Chris is responsible for many of Albus & Associates’ field responsibilities. He schedules inspections with clients and technicians, as well as with geologist/engineering and special inspectors and deputies. Daily, Chris reviews reports, plans, timecards, and test data, and is the Assistant Radiation Officer at AAI. You can also find Chris performing fieldwork, such as density testing of soil, aggregate base and asphalt, footing inspections, and sampling of field materials.

Chris studied natural sciences and math at Lake Tahoe Community College and has taken additional classes at various Cal State campuses. He maintains Hazardous Operations and ACI certifications. In a previous life, Chris taught skiing and snowboarding and was in the ski patrol at Heavenly Valley Resort in Lake Tahoe; additionally, he was involved in wildland firefighting as an EMT. He previously served as the caretaker of a lakeside estate, performing a variety of tasks and fulfilling odd requests for an eccentric, wealthy individual.

The pleasant environment and working closely with the AAI staff is what Chris likes most about his job, as well as the recognition of hard work done well by upper management.

In his spare time, Chris travels to Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama, Bahamas for surfing and scuba diving, and pursues skiing and snowboarding trips to resorts in Utah, California, and Colorado. Though sushi is his go-to favorite, Mexican food is a must have staple!

Monica is AAI’s Accountant and handles the company’s financial reporting, accounting, HR generalist duties, insurance, and more. She is instrumental in making sure that t’s are crossed, and i’s are dotted when it comes to bringing on new staff, customers, and vendors and making sure all licenses are in place for AAI’s work to proceed without a hitch.

Monica attained her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at California State University, Northridge. She particularly enjoys working in AAI’s family-run environment and finds the management and staff great to work with.

An avid UCLA sports fan, Monica loves to travel and considers herself a foodie. In her off-hours, she spends time going to the movies and reading suspense thrillers and mystery novels.

Kim is Albus & Associates’ part-time Administrative Assistant and Office Manager and is responsible for a variety of duties, including office operations, accounts payable, event planning, and human resource functions.

Her career includes positions in a host of work environments including Capital Group, Avery Dennison, Squaresoft and the Norton Simon Museum. Her favorite part of her work at AAI is planning events from start to finish.

Kim holds multiple degrees, including an MA in psychology from Philips Graduate Institute, an MBA in finance from Cal Poly Pomona, and a BS in finance, real estate & law, also from Cal Poly Pomona.

When she’s not running the office like a well-oiled machine, Kim spends her time reading, enjoying ballet, and taking care of her two daughters.

Martin is an Associate Engineer at Albus & Associates and is responsible for the execution of geotechnical engineering services. He brings over twenty years of national and international professional experience including residential, commercial, industrial, public works, waterworks, transportation, and federal projects. His areas of expertise include slope stabilization for hillside development, landslide remediation, deep foundations, retaining walls, liquefaction evaluation and conventional soils engineering. Martin has provided technical assistance on many conventional to highly complex earthwork, shoring, dewatering, seismic, liquefaction, slope stability, landslide, rock stabilization, and ground improvement studies.

Martin has worked on many engineering geology tasks such as geologic mapping, hydrogeology studies, fault studies and rock stability analyses. Since much of his experience has been in Southern California and urbanized areas, he has worked on many geo-environmental projects dealing with fuel hydrocarbons, solvents, lead, metals, and other compounds in soil and groundwater. Further, his work experience in British Columbia gave him unique perspective in dealing with challenging soft soils under static and earthquake conditions.

Martin earned Master of Science degrees in Geotechnical Engineering from Northeastern University, Boston, and in Environmental Planning and Management from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He has a BS in Civil Engineering from Sharif (Arya-Mehr) University of Technology in Tehran and has published academic articles in the International Journal of Civil Engineering, and in the Asian Journal of Civil Engineering.

What Martin enjoys about working at AAI is our great collaborative environment. When not at work, you can find him engaged in chess, travelling, and camping.

Mark’s primary role at Albus & Associates is overseeing the geology team and reviewing their work. Additionally, Mark performs site reconnaissance, subsurface exploration, geologic mapping, and fault rupture investigations for the preparation of geologic and soils engineering reports, particularly for site flat land and hillside development and/or improvement. He also conducts forensic investigations of building foundation distress from ground movement, including natural soil processes and landslides. Mark also can be found performing site observations during construction, including soil removals and bottom excavations, shallow and deepened foundation excavations, and both temporary and permanent cut slopes.

Mark earned his BS in Geology at California State University of Los Angeles; however, he began studying geology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where he lived for two years. Prior to becoming Chief Geologist for Albus and Associates, Mark was the owner of Houser Geologic, LLC, which specialized in hillside residential projects performing similar tasks as described above.

In addition to the wonderful staff at Albus and Associates, Mark enjoys working with and developing respectful relationships with our clients. Working on a wide variety of projects, including those that are challenging and complex, is one of his favorite parts of his job.

Mark is married to his wonderful wife Christina; their daughter, Helene, is 13 years old and will begin high school in the fall of 2024. His family enjoys skiing, camping and spending time with their extended family. Mark’s father’s work as an environmental engineer has also allowed him to travel to many countries throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

In his spare time, Mark is an avid golfer and fisherman.

Ron has had a variety of responsibilities at Albus & Associates (AAI), including lab testing, field investigations involving drill and sampling, onsite investigations of distressed structures, preparing construction plan sets for segmental retaining walls, preparing most AutoCAD exhibits and plans for our projects, and preparing final reports for rough and post grading construction services.

He has been AAI’s radiation safety officer since acquiring our radioactive materials license to possess and maintain nuclear soil testing gauges.

Ron studied math, geology, oceanography, landscape architecture and IT at several universities, and has been with Albus & Associates since day one, 25 years ago. Prior to AAI, he held engineering roles in geotechnical companies Leighton and Associates, Schafer Dixon/Huntingdon International and Petra Geotechnical.

Ron grew up working on dairy farms in the California Central Valley, then joined the Navy, serving as a sonar technician. What he enjoys most about working at AAI is the variety of projects and working in close contact with our diverse in-house talent to create unique solutions to benefit our customers. He’s also a fan of the company’s generous supplies of snacks, beverages, and allowances for personal time off.

When not working, Ron enjoys rockhounding, mostly in the Mojave Desert, and is very active in his church. He has been married for over 41 years and has two daughters and 3 grandchildren, whom he adores.