David Saftner

head shot of David Saftner
Professional Title
Department Head & Associate Professor

Focus

Geotechnical Engineering

Education

  • Ph.D., Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering, University of Michigan
  • M.S., Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering, University of Michigan
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, United States Military Academy

Academic & Professional Experience

  • Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth (2017-Present)
  • Head, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth (2017-2020)
  • Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth (2011-2017)
  • Engineer Officer, United States Army (2000-2005)

Research Interests

Beneficial reuse of waste soil material; teaching and learning in engineering education; site investigation and characterization; slope stability; sand aging; soil improvement; and geostatistical applications in geotechnical engineering.

Courses Taught

  • CE 1025 Introduction to Civil Engineering
  • CE 3426 Soil Mechanics
  • CE 4415 Geotechnical Design
  • CE 5420 Advanced Soil Mechanics
  • CE 5421 Applied Geostatistics

Select Publications & Products

Full publication list also available on Google Scholar

  1. Estes, A.C., Ressler, S.J., Saviz, C.M., Barry, B.E., Considine, C.L., Dennis, N.D., Hamilton, S.R., Hurwitz, D.S., Kunberger, T., Lennox, T.A., Nilsson, T., O’Brien, J.J., O’Neill, R.J., Saftner, D.A., Salyards, K., Welch, R.W., Coward, D.K., and Nolen, L.E., 2019. “The ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Workshop: Assessing 20 Years of Instructional Development.” International Journal of Engineering Education, 35(6), in press.
  2. Saftner, D., Cruz, C., Cai, M., Johnson, K., and Patelke, M., 2019. Development and Regionalization of Bioslopes and Bioswales (Report No. MN/RC 2019-31). St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Transportation.
  3. Saftner, D.A., Zheng, J., Green, R.A., Hryciw, R.D., and Wissmann, K., 2018. “Rammed Aggregate Pier Installation Effect on Soil Properties.” Ground Improvement, 171(2), 63-73.
  4. Saftner, D., Dagger, R., and Mayne, P., 2018. Cone Penetration Test Design Guide of State Geotechnical Engineers (Report No. 2018-32). St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Transportation.
  5. Farnsworth, C., Retherford, J., and Saftner, D., 2018. “Lowman’s Model Goes back to the Movies.” 2018 ASEE Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, electronic proceedings. Best paper award.
  6. Johnson, K., Cai, M., Patelke, M., Saftner, D., and Swanson, J., 2017. Comparing Properties of Water Absorbing/Filtering Media for Bioslope/Bioswale Design (Report No. MN/RC 2017-46). St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Transportation.
  7. Saftner, D., Carranza-Torres, C., and Nelson, M., 2017. Slope Stabilization and Repair Solutions for Minnesota Local Government Engineers (Report No. MN/RC 2017-17). St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Transportation.
  8. Saftner, D.A., Green, R.A., and Hryciw, R.D., 2015. “Use of Explosives to Investigate Liquefaction Resistance of Aged Sand Deposits.” Engineering Geology, 199, 140-147.
  9. Saftner, D.A. and Hryciw, R.D., 2015. “Dynamic Soil Properties: In-Situ Characterization Using Penetration Tests.” Encyclopedia of Earthquake Engineering, Springer Reference, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-36197-5_13-1.