David Eley

PE

Principal Geotechnical Engineer

The ability to come up with creative solutions for clients is one of the more challenging and fun parts of being an engineer.

Hired

  • 2007

Location

  • Baton Rouge, LA

As a geotechnical engineer specializing in issues related to supporting buildings, roads and other infrastructure on the ground, David is always tinkering with the interrelationships of structures and soil. “I have always enjoyed playing in the dirt and building things, he recalls. “I am always doing projects around the house and like wood working. Engineering is just the same thing on a larger scale.”

In addition to his work with structures, David has been heavily involved with GeoEngineers’ coastal restoration practice and has completed a number of recent projects involving marsh creation and other natural erosion barriers. He also helps run the Baton Rouge office operations to make sure the group is responsive to client needs and producing quality work. All of these roles involve creative problem-solving. “I am an avid Sudoku puzzle person,” David notes. “Each engineering problem has a solution, the more complicated the problem, the tougher the solution. The ability to come up with creative solutions for clients is one of the more challenging and fun parts of being an engineer.”

In his free time, David likes to spend time with his wife and two daughters, work in the yard and fish the Louisiana coast, which gives him a personal appreciation for GeoEngineers’ coastal restoration work.

Awards
  • Outstanding Senior Alumni 2015, UMass Amherst College of Engineering
Articles
  • Coastal Louisiana Geotechnical Parameter Correlations,” Co-presented at ACI-ASCE Conference, New Orleans, LA, September 25-26, 2019
  • Planning for What You Can’t See,” presented at State of Coast Conference, New Orleans, LA, June 1-3, 2016
  • Foundations for a Floating Casino,” presented at ACI-ASCE Conference, New Orleans, LA, September 28-29 2016
  • “Working with the Mississippi River for Sustainable Storm Protection,” presented at ASCE International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure with Russ Joffrion and Blake Cotton, Long Beach, CA, November 6-8, 2014.
  • “Settlement/Consolidation of Dredge Slurry Fill Material,” presented at COPRI Marsh Creation Workshop, October 2, 2014.
  • “Estimating Settlement for Coastal Fill Projects,” poster at the State of the Coast Conference, New Orleans, LA, June 25-27, 2012.
  • Estimating Consolidation Settlement of Coastal Fill Projects,” presented at the ASBPA National Coastal Conference, October 18-21, 2011.
  • “Alternate Site Investigation Plans and Methods-Facility Geology,” presented at LDEQ Office of Waste Services Conference, Lafayette, LA, March 24, 1999.

Selected Project Experience

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