David Swanson - Engineer of the Year 2003, President's Award 2005, 2002, 1998

Northwest native David B. Swanson earned the BSCE in 1990 and MSCE in 1991 from the University of Washington, with “Torsional Response of Seismically Isolated Structures” as his thesis topic. An SEAW scholarship supported his studies.

He worked as an Engineering Technician/Designer at Hedges & Roth Engineering, Inc. in Sumner and as a Structural Design Engineer at KPFF Consulting Engineers, Inc. in Seattle, before taking a position at Reid Middleton (Everett) where he served as Principal Director. In 2020 he began working as a data process engineer with Microsoft. He has also served as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington.

Dave has over 25 years experience on projects throughout the Pacific Northwest, California, and Alaska. His commitment to seismic safety and the design of high performance structures and essential facilities defines his work as Director of Reid Middleton’s Structural Group. His practice has involved the design and seismic retrofit of buildings for aviation, healthcare, academic, civic, commercial, and institutional projects throughout the western US and Alaska. Notable projects include Renovation and Seismic Upgrades of Grays Harbor County Courthouse in Montesano, the Navy Ship Model and Support Facility in Bayview, Idaho, a multitude of seismic upgrade and renovation projects on historic buildings for the US Navy at Naval Station Bremerton, Subbase Bangor, and Keyport; the Alaska Airlines Maintenance Facility at SeaTac, the $120M South Terminal Seismic and Security Upgrades Project at the Anchorage International Airport, and seismic upgrades at Bremerton Naval Hospital.

He has authored and published over 15 technical papers on structural design of buildings in high seismic hazard areas.

A past Director of SEAW, Dave has represented structural engineers nationally on the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations' Structural Engineers Emergency Response Committee. As a member of FEMA's Urban Search & Rescue Task Force (WATF-1), he participates in evaluation of collapsed buildings for rescue operations. He organized and led SEAW-sponsored reconnaissance teams to investigate the 1995 Kobe and the 1999 Taiwan earthquakes, and participated on the 1996 Holiday Snow Storm Failure investigation team and the 2008 Wenchuan Reconnaissance Team following the Sichuan Earthquake.

Posted April 2012, updated August 2020
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