Robb has been a professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, since 2005.  He earned a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley in the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering, with minors in engineering seismology and structural reliability. His research and consulting focuses on the physics and probability of natural hazards such as; strong ground motions, seismic soil liquefaction, surface fault rupture, seismic induced landslides, debris flow, and others.  His teaching includes undergraduate and graduate courses in; geotechnical engineering, engineering risk analysis, geological engineering, earthquake engineering, and others.  He has been a member of ten earthquake reconnaissance teams traveling to Nepal, Japan, Chile, Alaska, Turkiye, India, Mexico, and around California.  Robb was appointed a Fulbright Scholar to Chile for 2017-2020 and is currently an editor for the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.

Licensed Professional Engineer and Professional Geologist with over 33 years of experience in geotechnical engineering and engineering geology, with Bachelors of Science degrees in Engineering and Geological Engineering, and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering with a geotechnical emphasis. Facilitated and advisor on over 50 risk assessments for dams and levees, and performed ATR of over 50 USACE dam and levee projects including 17 as the lead. Have performed dam and levee inspections, over a dozen dam investigations, over a dozen design and modifications for dams, and construction observation of dams, modifications to dams, and water supply projects. Reviewed and managed reviews of 84 IRRMPs for USACE and over 100 dam and 80 levee DDPs from USACE and non-USACE organizations for dam and levee investigations. Organized, presented, and led multiple training workshops for USACE, private and professional organizations including the LST training, site Investigation workshops, led PFMA exercises at multiple training events.

Wade has 35 years’ experience and currently serves as a Senior Advisor and Water Resources Design Engineer.  Wade is a dam and levee expert and a national leader in the design, construction, operation, and rehabilitation of water resources infrastructure, including dams, levees, and hydraulic structures.  He has decades of industry experience with the US Army Corps of Engineers at the District and National levels and with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, serving as a national subject matter expert, senior geotechnical engineer, and embankment specialist.  Wade led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Engineering and Construction Division responsible for $300 to $500M in construction placement annually.  Wade’s direct project leadership has led to dam and levee modifications and rehabilitations exceeding $3 billion in planning, design, and construction.  Wade holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University.

Mr. Hutchison currently serves as the Chief of Contracting for the Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and brings over 18 years of acquisition experience in various execution, oversight, and program management roles on a wide range of mission requirements with the US Army Communications and Electronics Command, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command, and USACE.  His expertise spans across Civil Works, Hydropower, Interagency & International Support, Military Missions, Operations, and Environmental Services. 

Notably, Brian received Enterprise-wide recognition as the USACE Procurement Contracting Officer of the Year in 2021 and is continually relied upon by the Army, Federal Agencies, DoD, and Defense Industrial Base as a subject matter expert on alternative delivery methods. 

His technical credibility, influence, and commitment to collaboration have made him a trusted professional within our organization and industry.  

Brian holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Pittsburg State University and a master's degree in Construction Management from Auburn University.

USACE SWD-Dam Safety Production Center, Chief Engineer California Mega Projects Office

Brian is a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma with 20 years of experience in design, construction, and rehabilitation of dams with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Brian currently works for the Southwestern Division Dam Safety Production Center as the Chief Engineer for the California Mega Projects Office. He has served as the Lead Engineer for the Lewisville Dam Safety Modification, SWD-DSPC Geotechnical Branch Chief and the SWD-DSPC Deputy Director. Prior experiences also include design engineering and construction management with the USDA-NRCS Small Watershed Program.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biosystems Engineering from Oklahoma State University and is a member of ASDSO & USSD. 

Del has 30 years of experience working in the civil, geotechnical, and environmental engineering fields, including extensive experience working on concrete and embankment dam safety and dam design. Del regularly contributes his expertise to local, national and international committees, including serving on the Roller Compacted Concrete Committees for the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). He is also Board President of the US Society on Dams (USSD), serves on the ASCE Committee on America’s Infrastructure (CAI) and is a committee member of the Geotechnical Engineering and Design/Build Subcommittees for the USSD and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO).

Dennis leads AECOM's Dams & Hydropower business across all global regions for major pursuits, resourcing, project collaboration, recruiting, and teaming.  Mr. Hogan has over twenty-four years’ experience in the planning, investigation, analysis, design, permitting, and construction inspection of dam rehabilitation projects, construction of dams and heavy civil engineering projects. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in 12 states and holds a B.S. in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering from Drexel University.  He has published technical papers in conference proceedings for the United States Society on Dams, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, International Commission on Large Dams, Chinese National Committee on Large Dams and received the Bateman Prize for Best Technical Paper from the British Dams Society (co-author, 2013).

Mr. Brand is a Dam Engineering Consultant. Prior to 2018 Bruce served as a senior Structural engineer for the dam safety program of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In that capacity, he developed FERC Engineering Guidelines for the evaluation of Concrete dams. He has also developed much of the FERC's engineering software, including several non-linear finite element codes, both static and dynamic. With respect to spillway gates, he was instrumental in the development of the FERC Taintergate Initiative. From 1981-1992 Mr. Brand was the structural Designer & Team Leader for the St. Paul District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. In that capacity, he performed structural design on a wide  variety of Dam on other water resource structures.

B.S., Mathematics, 1979 St. Johns University

B.S., Civil Engineering, 1980, University of Minnesota

M.S.,Civil Engineering, 1981, University of Minnesota

Bruce is a Husband, Father of 3, Student of the Bible (especially the Old Testament), Guitarist/singer/songwriter, Mathematician, Electronic circuit designer, Welder, Plumber, Minnesota Vikings fan.

Pete serves as a senior project manager for Ayres with a primary focus on improving performance of hydraulic structures and completing federal dam inspections. In the dam removal field, Pete managed the 2015 design and removal of the 257kW Gordon Hydro Dam (33 feet high with less than 40,000 cubic yards of sediment) and the 2012 design and removal of the 306kW Grimh Hydro Dam (30 feet high with 115,000 cubic yards of sediment).  He has consulted on more than ten dam removal projects.

Thomas Hepler has nearly 36 years of experience with the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Interior, in hydraulic and structural engineering design for concrete dams, spillways, and outlet works. He has performed dam safety inspections on numerous large concrete dams including T. Roosevelt Dam Raise and Clear Lake Replacement Dam. Experienced in potential failure mode analysis (PFMA) and risk analysis for dams and Engineer of Record for the removal of Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, and of several smaller dams on the West Coast. Co-author of guidance documents on overtopping protection for dams, dam decommissioning, and roller-compacted concrete. Current member of Technical Representative team for removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. As a Senior Consultant for Schnabel, currently perform PFMA and risk analyses for municipal governments and utilities, and Part 12 inspections for FERC licensees. Have served on Value Engineering teams and Independent Review panels. Member ASCE, USSD, and ASDSO.

Jared Vegrzyn is a hydraulic engineer with WEST Consultants, Inc..  He has a strong educational background in analysis and application of physical and mathematical relationships related to hydrology and hydraulics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His experience includes hydraulic and hydrologic modeling and river geomorphology. a

Eric is a registered professional engineer working as a dam and levee consultant specializing in risk and safety programs. He retired from the Corps of Engineers after almost 40 years of service where he led the agency Dam and Levee Safety Programs as well as the National Levee Safety Program. He has engineering degrees from Clemson University (1983) and Oklahoma State University (1989).  Currently, he is the principal of Halpin Consulting LLC where he works internationally with clients in the dam, levee, and mining industry.  

Miles Yaw is a Civil Engineer in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s River Management unit. He manages TVA’s probabilistic hydrology, downstream consequences, and paleoflood hydrology programs, and also serves as a subject matter expert for hydraulics and hydrology for Dam Safety Inspections, Risk Assessments, and Modification Studies. He currently serves as the Young Professional Vice Chairman of the USSD Hydraulics and Hydrology committee. Prior to TVA, Mr. Yaw worked in consulting, focusing on river mechanics, sediment transport, and fluvial geomorphology. During that time, Mr. Yaw performed sediment transport studies on rivers across the United States to help dam owners understand downstream morphological impacts of existing and proposed operations. Mr. Yaw also provided direct development and testing support for the sediment transport routines in HEC-RAS 5.x. He holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University and a BS in Civil Engineering from Washington State University. He currently lives in Knoxville, TN with his wife and three children.

Ryan Clark is a hydraulic engineer with the USACE Dam Safety Modification Center (DSMC).  While the center is located in LRH, Mr. Clark sits virtually in the Nashville District.  Prior to working for the DSMC he worked in the Water Resources Section of the Hydrology and Hydraulics Branch of the Nashville District for over 8 years.   With over 10 years of flood risk experience, he currently works on hydrologic hazards and risk studies for the USACE Dam and Levee Safety Program.  He received his B.S. and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Tennessee Technological University as well as a M.S. in Risk Management from Notre Dame of Maryland University. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Tennessee.  Besides work, he enjoys watching the Cubs and Titans, getting outdoors as much as possible with his family, and enjoying a nice glass of bourbon with his friends.

Carolyn J. Pearson is a Hydrologic Engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Risk Management Center.  Carolyn is a registered professional engineer in the state of Missouri with over 11 years of experience in hydraulic and hydrology analysis, design, and risk assessment in the dam and levee safety programs. She is currently an RMC Regional Hydrology Lead providing technical guidance and oversight on national Dam and Levee Safety studies. She has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology, a B.S. in Chemistry and Secondary Education from Graceland University, an M.S in Civil Engineering (Water Resources & Environmental) from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and an M.S. in Risk Management from the Notre Dame University of Maryland.  She currently lives near the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Littleton, CO.

Jonathan Harris currently acts as the National Practice Leader for Dam Safety and Risk at Schnabel. He has over 27 years of experience specializing in geotechnical engineering, embankment dam design, seismic engineering, dam safety, and risk analysis. He spent 11 years with the Bureau of Reclamation, working at the Technical Service Center as a Technical Project Lead. Jonathan has conducted numerous dam safety assessments for Reclamation, FERC licensees, and other hydropower owners in the United States and other countries. He spent three years working in New Zealand performing dam safety and risk assessments within New Zealand and other countries.

Jonathan has performed as a facilitator and subject matter expert for qualitative and quantitative risk analyses for numerous dam facilities. He has actively been involved in providing training for dam safety and risk analysis for over 15 years and is currently part of the United States Society on Dams risk-informed decision making (RIDM) training development leadership team and helped organize the semi-quantitative risk analysis RIDM training.

Jonathan has overseen numerous embankment dam projects for new and existing structures including site investigation, design, construction, and remediation. He has also been involved with many dam safety assessments for a variety of dam structure types and appurtenant structures, including embankments, spillways, and concrete dams.

Dom Galic is a geotechnical engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation's TechnicalService Center in Denver. He has been with Reclamation for over ten years, sincecompleting his doctoral research (in rock mechanics) at the University of California,Berkeley. Dom has been a risk analysis facilitator since 2011 and is an active memberof the Reclamation risk cadre, a working group established to provide training andguidance on risk analysis methodology and promote consistency in risk informeddecision making. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Colorado.

Jacob Davis is the Special Assistant for Dam Safety for HQ USACE. He has served at Headquarters’ for more than 5 years and is responsible for policy, guidance, and oversight of the dam safety program., which includes making risk informed recommendations for dam safetystudies, modifications, and aspects of daily Operations and Maintenance activities.The USACE portfolio has more than 740 multiple purpose dams that provide approximately $ 170Bin flood damage prevention annually, protects more than 15 million people living in flood plains downstream of dams , facilitates 12,000 miles of inlandwater navigation , stores one third of all fresh water to serve over 100 million people, allows for 25% of hydropower generation, creates over 190,000 jobsthat support 250 million recreation visitors who enjoy camping, fishing, boating, hiking, and other activities

Mr. Davis began his career at the USACE Jacksonville District where he was introduced to dams during the foundation exploration and design for the Portugués Dam in Puerto Rico; design and construction at Herbert Hoover Dike in south Florida; and participated in inspections, repairs, and instrumentation planning and evaluations at dams and levees. He later joined the USACE Risk Management Center where he evaluated interim risk reduction measure plans, facilitated risk assessments, participated as ageotechnical risk assessor and technical advisor, and served as a program manager.

Prior to joining Headquarters’, Mr. Davis worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority helping to improve the risk informed decision making program and governance structure for dam safety. Mr. Davi s holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and is both a registeredProfessional Engineer and Project Management Professional.

Nate Snorteland has been with the Corps of Engineers as the Director of the Risk Management Center since 2009.  In this role, Mr. Snorteland is responsible for managing risks for the Corps of Engineers portfolio of more than 740 dams and 15,000+ miles of levees.  Mr. Snorteland’s background includes experience designing and constructing a wide variety of dams across the United States.  Following his work as a designer and construction engineer, he worked in the dam safety program for the Bureau of Reclamation in a variety of roles.  He was Reclamation’s project manager and lead engineer for the Joint Federal Project, a $1.6 Billion flood risk management and dam safety project at Folsom Dam in California. 

He specializes in risk assessment and risk management and developed risk management strategies for both Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers.  Since coming to the Corps of Engineers, he has led efforts related to risk, risk analysis, risk management, portfolio management, design standards, and risk-informed design. 

He holds a B.S. in Civil engineering from the University of Colorado, Denver and a M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering from Virginia Tech.  He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Colorado.  He has a love for the outdoors and enjoys exploring the vast open spaces in the Western U.S.

Glenn J. Rix is a senior principal geotechnical engineer based in Georgia with more than 30 years of experience focused on the areas of geotechnical earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. His practice includes seismic hazard and risk assessment and mitigation for civil infrastructure. Glenn joined the firm following a 23-year career as a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Since joining Geosyntec, Glenn has performed seismic hazard and risk analyses, liquefaction triggering evaluations, site response analyses, and seismic stability and deformation analyses for embankment and concrete dams, coal combustion residual (CCR) storage facilities, municipal and hazardous waste landfills, liquefied natural gas facilities, and highway bridges. He has also served as an external peer reviewer for seismic hazard analyses for nuclear power plants and provided litigation support for numerous cases related to the effects of blasting- and construction-induced ground vibrations on structures. Glenn is a leading authority on in-situ seismic methods and is a co-author of Surface Wave Methods for Near-Surface Site Characterization and the forthcoming American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual on Subsurface Investigations.

Christie Hale is a seismic hazard analyst involved in seismic safety assessment projects. Her technical experience includes deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, deaggregation analysis, target spectrum development, and time history selection and modification. Dr. Hale also has experience in PSHA code development, testing, and verification, and is a key contributor to the PSHA computer program HAZ45. Prior to joining Geosyntec, she led the PSHA Code Verification project at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, where her ability to understand how different modeling approaches impact the resulting seismic hazard curves was instrumental in helping participants troubleshoot their codes and ultimately reach consensus answers.

Frank Immel, has been with Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. since 2005. In his current position of Business Development Account Executive, his roles include developing and nurturing client relationships and uncovering opportunities that will benefit from Global Diving’s extensive experience and capabilities in underwater inspection, repair, maintenance and construction. Prior positions at Global include Lead Estimator and Marketing Manager. 

David Gillson launched Infrastructure & Marine Consultants, LLC in 2011. His background encompasses over 35 years in the marine/underwater construction industry.  His experience as a commercial diver and diving supervisor along with his experience as a Business Unit Leader and as a member of the Board of Directors for several engineering/environmental firms has led to representing owners during large marine/underwater projects. His professional pursuits have entailed the effective exercise of both executive decision-making and hands-on project and construction management. Infrastructure& Marine Consultants provides expertise in Project Management, Construction Management and QA/QC inspection services for complex industrial projects within the marine and underwater construction industry.  Project Management includes; Feasibility Studies, Constructability Review during design; Construction Management includes; On-site Owners Representatives during construction. Risk Management; Change Order Review; Progress Payment Review. Final Inspection & Punch List; Construction Approval, Acceptance and Close-out. 

Alex has 20 years of experience in robotic inspection, starting with the development, testing and manufacture of underwater robots, and then moving into the service side of the industry as an ROV operator, field supervisor, and project manager. Alex has worked with clients in oil & gas, hydroelectric, nuclear, water supply, wastewater, and governments.

Alex currently specializes in project planning, working with the customer and operations management to develop project scope and operational details; and project management, coordinating between the customer, suppliers, and field personnel. 

Craig Bartheld, has been with J. F. Brennan Company, Inc. (Brennan) for over 45 years. Craig’s current position is Director of Director of Business Development Structural Services. His responsibilities include building relationships with new prospective clients and maintain relationships with existing clients.  His responsibilities over the years have included, Diver, Safety Director, Diving Group Manager to his current BD position.

Mr. Milburn has over forty years of commercial diving experience from tender and saturation diver, to diving supervisor, diving superintendent, offshore manager, and senior project manager. His vast experience extends to all aspects of subsea construction, flowline installations, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations in Vertical Concentric Monobore – Sub Sea Tree (VCM) installations, Inspection Repair Maintenance (IRM) in both foreign and domestic arenas. He is skilled in procedural processes, project planning, task schedules, design criteria, fabrication, material service procurement, and estimating.