DFI Traveling Lecturer

The DFI Traveling Lecturer is a prominent industry expert selected annually to travel and present a series of lectures to university students, professional groups and industry associations. The program promotes the field of geotechnical engineering and deep foundation construction by encouraging students to explore a career in the deep foundations industry, providing information on topics of interest to members of the industry, and raising awareness of how DFI and its activities support the industry. The lecture series runs from September 1 - August 31.

The 2019-2020 DFI Traveling Lecturer

Willie M. NeSmith, P.E.

Willie M. NeSmith, P.E., is the former chief geotechnical engineer for Berkel & Company Contractors. NeSmith received a B.S. in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1974, and for the following 25 years worked as a consulting geotechnical engineer on projects in the U.S., the Middle East and Africa. He began to specialize in deep foundations in 1990, and joined Berkel & Company in 1999, after serving as a consultant for implementation of Berkel's displacement pile system. He is a leading authority on the design and installation of cast-in-place displacement piles in the U.S., having designed or evaluated over 200 displacement pile projects nationwide. NeSmith has authored over 20 professional publications and is a past member of the DFI Augered Cast-in-Place (ACIP) Pile Committee. He also served as the lead instructor for the DFI ACIP Short Course. NeSmith received his first professional registration in Georgia in 1978.

2019-2020 Traveling Lecture Series Topics

>Learn more about 2019-2020 Traveling Lecture Series Topics

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Past Traveling Lecturers

2018-2019: John R. Wolosick, P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, director of engineering at Hayward Baker Inc. (HBI) and past president of DFI