People: Senior Principals
David Bonneville
M.S. Structural Engineering, University of Connecticut, 1974
RegistrationCalifornia—Civil Engineer, 1978 License No. 27717
California—Structural Engineer, 1981 License No. 2355
Other Registrations: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Puerto Rico
Professional AffiliationsBuilding Seismic Safety Council (NIBS): Chair of Provisions Update Committee; Past Chair of Board of Direction; Member of Code Resource Support Committee.
Structural Engineers Association of California: Fellow Member; Past Chair of Seismology Committee; Past Director.
Structural Engineers Association of Northern California: Fellow Member; Past President
National Council of Structural Engineers Associations: Past Chair of Code Advisory Committee and Past
Chair of Seismic Subcommittee. 2007 Recipient of James Delahay Award for Outstanding Performance
In Code Development; 2009 Recipient of Robert Cornforth Award for Exemplary Service to Structural Engineering Profession.
California Building Standards Commission: Chair of Structural Design and Lateral Forces Advisory Committee.
American Society of Civil Engineers: Member of ASCE 7 Seismic Subcommittee
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Member
Joined the Firm:1981
Projects:Hewlett-Packard Company, Corporate Seismic Program
Agilent Technologies, Corporate Seismic Program
Intel Corporate Seismic Program
Solar Manufacturing Facility
State of California Department of General Services Seismic Upgrade Program
US General Services Administration Seismic Program
David leads a Degenkolb group that provides outstanding client service in the seismic evaluation, design and upgrade of critical buildings, with particular expertise in the science and technology sector. David is an active contributor to the seismic code development process in California and nationally and holds positions on key committees influencing seismic engineering practices in the United States. He is Chair of the Provisions Update Committee for the Building Seismic Safety Council and past Chair of its Board of Directors. He is a member of the seismic subcommittee for ASCE 7 and Chair of the Lateral Forces Advisory Committee for the California Building Standards Commission. He is past Chair of the Seismic Code Advisory Committee for the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, the recipient of its 2007 Delahay Award for outstanding contributions to building code development and of its 2009 Robert Cornforth Award for exceptional dedication and exemplary service to the profession. David is past Chair of the Seismology Committee for the Structural Engineers Association of California and became a SEAOC Fellow in 2007.
Engineering Philosophy:
I was mentored in the early years of my career by an extraordinary older engineer named Mike Pregnoff. He kept a quote by Aristotle on his wall that read: “It is the mark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek for exactness where only an approximation is possible.” To me that suggests that the most elegant solution is often the one that eliminates the problem rather than the one that analyzes at an advanced level. We’re now capable in structural engineering of analyzing structural system behavior at a level that has advanced well beyond our knowledge of the ground motion at the site. We should keep that in mind and make good decisions for our clients.
Virtues:
Among the Degenkolb values that are of utmost importance to me are openness, integrity and respect.
Vices:
I’m more than willing to spend 30 minutes to avoid waiting in a 5-minute line. There are many more but I lost the list on top of my desk.
Professional Objective:
To groom people to exceed their professional expectations.
Special Interests:
Currently I’m blessed to be sandwiched between parents in their late 80’s and kids in their late 20’s and to be in the position to important to all of them. Beyond that, I enjoy (with Jen) gardening, traveling, cooking and sports, with particular interest in the Giants and Red Sox. Still a runner after 40 years but with no interest in knowing my current pace.
