Taki Chrysovergis, MS, PE, GE

Status:

Awarded

Awarded:

Nominated Categories

Outstanding Younger Civil Engineer

Other Categories

Awards:

Captain of Cal Poly SLO Geowall team 1nd Place Regional competition 2010
Captain of Cal Poly SLO Geowall team 1nd Place Regional competition 2011
Captain of Cal Poly SLO Geowall team 2nd Place National competition 2011
Cal Poly SLO CalGeo Team Scholarship 2011

Additional Files

Additional Information

Candidate Information

Name:

Taki Chrysovergis, MS, PE, GE

ASCE Member?:

Yes

Company:

Name: SPC Engineering
Address: 685 N. Shepard St. Anaheim, CA 92806

Supervisor:

Education:

B.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2012, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
M.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2012, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Ph.D Studies, Structures, Geotechnics, and Materials, 2020-Present, University California, Irvine

Continuing Education/Leadership Conferences:
Geo-Frontiers Conference, Dallas, TX (2011)
Western Regional Younger Member Council (2015, 2016, 2017)
Multi-Region Leadership Conference (2018, 2020)
Geo-Institute Chapter Summit (2018, 2020)
Geo-Congress Conference, Geo-Institute (2018, 2019, 2020)
Geo-Extreme Conference, Geo-Institute, Savannah, GA (2021)

Experience:

Taki is a Principal Engineer at SPC Engineering, where he is responsible for managing geotechnical and civil aspects of private development and public works projects from business development to design and construction services. Additionally, he regularly performs forensic investigations as a geotechnical, civil, and environmental engineering expert. He is a licensed geotechnical engineer in the state of California and a civil engineer in the states of California and Nevada.

Taki has provided significant contributions to the geotechnical and civil engineering industry over a wide variety of sectors and engagements:
• Notable research:
o Evaluation/analysis of ground deformations at LA Metro deep excavations (PhD research, in progress)
o Research of tar sand behavior in LA region (PhD research, in progress)
o Researched and developed new design values for interface shear strength of sloped landfill liners (master’s thesis research)
o Researched cyclic response of peaty-organic soils of the bay delta levees (undergraduate research).
• Geotechnical and civil design/analysis: provided design and construction services for commercial/residential developments, and for water treatment, power, stormwater, transportation, port, municipal solid waste, military, and education facilities. Geotechnical and civil work includes design/analysis of shallow and deep foundations, retaining structures, pavement, slope stability, stormwater facilities, and liquefaction and geotechnical earthquake analyses.
• Forensic engineering:
o Performed over 300 forensic investigations of civil, geotechnical, and environmental failure cases.
o Retained as a geotechnical and civil expert witness for litigated matters in construction law representing property owners, cities, HOAs, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors.
• Investigated and designed repair recommendations for several landslide failures in southern California. Included evaluating extent of damage and post-failure conditions, performing the subsurface investigation programs, preparation of repair recommendations/design, and construction inspection services.
• Geotechnical specialty consultation for a large electrical contractor, assisting with challenging geotechnical conditions for solar farm projects in four states across the United States (up to 500 MW and 8000 acres).  Challenging conditions include pile driving in cobbles, cemented soil, and soft soil, as well as foundation considerations for flooding and scour/erosion.

Publications
Investigation of the Effects of Temperature and Moisture of Interface Shear Strength of Textured Geomembrane and Geosynthetic Clay Liner, Masters Thesis (Chrysovergis, 2012)

Bentonite Extrusion from GCLs as a Function of Moisture Content, Stress Application, and Temperature, Engineers Australia (Hanson, Yesiller, Either, and Chrysovergis, 2014)

Temperature and Moisture Effects on GCL and Textured Geomembrane Interface Shear Strength, Geosynthetics International (Hanson, Chrysovergis, Yesiller, and Manheim, 2015)

Temperature-Dependent Variation in Surface Characteristics of a Textured Geomembrane Due to Interface Shear Testing Against a GCL, Geo-Americas 2016 (Hanson, Chrysovergis, Yesiller, and Manheim 2016)

An Evaluation of Post-Wildfire Erosional and Flooding Damage in Southern California, Geo-Extreme 2021 (Chrysovergis, Chrysovergis, and Chrysovergis, 2021)

Lessons Learned from a Reduced-Size Exploratory Shaft for the Los Angeles Metro D-Line (Purple Line) in Tar-Impacted Soils, Geo-Congress 2022 (Chrysovergis, Lozano, Lemnitzer, Hashash, Sathialingam, Cording, and O’Rourke, 2021)

Comments:

“I have known Taki since 2014 when he joined me as Vice Chair of the ASCE Orange County Branch Geo-Institute (G-I) Chapter, which I had founded just a year prior.  Taki played a significant role in helping grow the OC G-I into one of the more successful groups within the ASCE OC Branch and one of the most successful G-I chapters in the country.  I was able to rely on Taki for his commitment to the positions he held on the ASCE OC G-I board and on his judgment and decision-making as it pertained to the operation and growth of the chapter.  His leadership qualities and investment in the chapter’s growth and continued success gave me peace of mind that he would serve as a viable successor as the chapter’s Chair.

Those qualities, which earned Taki a national position of leadership within the G-I, also made him a natural candidate for a position on the ASCE OC Branch’s Executive Board, where he succeeded me in the role of Branch Secretary.  He brought with him the same leadership and investment he exhibited as a board member for the ASCE OC G-I, and his ability to uphold his obligations to the position while also managing a private engineering company, publishing technical papers, pursuing a Ph.D., and supporting his young family is a testament to his worthiness of the award for which he is nominated.”
- Clint Isa, 2021-22 OC Branch Past-President

Contribution to the Profession:

Summary of Board Positions and Membership:
ASCE Member (2006-present)
CalGeo (California Geotechnical Engineering Association), Member (2008 – Present)
Post-Tensioning Institute, Member (2016 – Present)
ASCE Student Chapter Board Member, CalGeo Liaison (2009-2012)
ASCE OC YMF Geo-Institute Liaison (2013-2018)
ASCE OC Geo-Institute Vice-Chair (2014-2017)
ASCE OC Geo-Institute Chair (2017-2018)
ASCE OC Geo-Institute Past-Chair (2018-2019)
Geo-Institute Local Involvement Committee, Region 9 Representative (2018-present)
ASCE Orange County Chapter Secretary (2019-2021)

Taki views involvement with professional organizations as critical to the individual and engineering community as a whole. It fosters technical growth, improvement of soft skills, and increases connection within the engineering community. Taki has held a board position with a student, YMF, or Branch ASCE chapter for 12 consecutive years, and has consistently participated in other capacities. Most notable ASCE contributions as a Board/Committee member:
ASCE OC Geo-Institute Chair, Vice-Chair, Past-Chair (2014-2019)
• Spent six years as the Chair, Vice-Chair, or Past-Chair of the ASCE Orange County Geo-Institute Chapter, which comprised of 350 chapter members and 6 board members. Assisted with growing the new Chapter to a fully functioning and self-sustaining group that is among the most active in the country, with regular events that regularly exceed 80 attendees.
• Involved with organization of 20 technical meetings and seminars, including procuring speakers, advertising the event, and securing sponsorships.
• During his time as a board member, the chapter was economically self-sustaining and required no additional funds from local or national levels to operate. During holding the Chair position, he added two board member positions to increase involvement and group activities.
• Involved with organization of annual bowling social events that included Holiday toy drive for underprivileged children.
• Prepared newsletter articles to GeoStrata Magazine and ASCE OC sharing the activities performed by the branch.
• Tracking and distribution of Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for attendees at technical events.
• Review and voting of annual OC Geo-Institute scholarship applicants
ASCE OC Secretary (2019-2021)
• One of five Executive Board (E-Board) of Directors responsible for operations of the Branch
• Recorded Board meeting minutes and track tasks for organization of Branch events and operations
• Participated in financial planning and auditing meetings for Branch finances
• Assisted with organization and input for technical, outreach, and social events
• Executive Board delegate to various Committees/Institutes, including attending/participating in meetings and assisting with organization of the groups. These included Geo-Institute chapter, Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute chapter, Website Committee, and Newsletter Committee.
• Review of applications and voting for eight student scholarships each year worth a total of $15,000
• Preparation of nomination and ballot for incoming Executive Board position in the following fiscal year.
YMF Geo-Institute Liaison (2013-2018)
• Liaison between OC YMF and OC Geo-Institute
• Planned and organized four technical field trips for younger and branch members
• Participated in and led groups for volunteer events to present and demonstrate engineering activities at local elementary schools.
Geo-Institute Local Involvement Committee (LIC) Member (2018-present)
• Liaison between G-I chapter leaders in Region 9 and National G-I. Region 9 G-I chapters include Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland Empire, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Participates in monthly meetings with the other LIC members for strategic planning and initiatives for the Committee.
• Provide support/resources to G-I chapter leaders in Region 9
• Review of applications and voting for Small and Large Geo-Institute Chapter of the Year Awards.
• Represented Geo-Institute at a society-level along with current G-I president when participating in Technical Region Board of Governers (TRBG) meeting in 2020. Included reviewing nominee qualifications and voting for Technical Region Director.

Teaching Appointments:
• Taki has a passion for teaching geotechnical engineering at the university level (and learning from the students!) since he was a graduate student, and recently had the opportunity to be an adjunct lecturer at two local universities while working as a practicing engineer full time. During his time as a lecturer, he focused on teaching practical topics that would be useful for all students in the civil engineering program. He was responsible for preparing lesson plans, homework assignments, and exams. These experiences expanded his horizons to understand the different learning modes required for a 130 student lecture, and enhanced his understanding of the fundamentals of soil mechanics, which made him a better practicing engineer.  Currently, he is pausing his teaching commitments while pursuing a PhD at UC Irvine. A summary of teaching appointments include:
o Adjunct lecturer, Soil Mechanics UC Irvine, Winter 2019
o Adjunct lecturer, Soil Mechanics Cal State Long Beach, Fall 2019
o Teaching Associate, Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Cal Poly SLO, Winter, Spring 2012
o PE Review Lecturer, ASCE Orange County, Geotechnical review, Winter 2020
Other:
• Presentation to ASCE Leader Training Committee: Section and Branch Best Practices Webinar on Starting an Institute Chapter (2020)
• Presentation to Region 9 Institute chapter leaders at MRLC on Guidelines To Run A Successful Institute Chapter (2020)
• Guest lectures in undergraduate and graduate courses at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Pomona (2016-2019)
• Regularly donates to Geo-Institute student funds to assist student participation

Civic:

• Mentorship to undergraduate students for GeoWall competitions at Cal Poly SLO (2010-2012)
• Mentorship and guidance to undergraduate and graduate students at UC Irvine and Cal State Long Beach (2020, 2021)
• Presentations and demonstrations to elementary school students on civil, geotechnical, and general engineering (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016)
• Organized holiday toy drive for underprivileged children at annual OC Geo-Institute bowling event
• Under leadership as Chair of OC Geo-Institute, awarded two student scholarships (2017, 2018)

Suggested Award Summary:

Taki Chrysovergis, MS, PE, GE is a principal engineer at SPC Engineering, where he manages geotechnical design and construction aspects of private development and public works projects. His expertise includes design and analysis of shallow and deep foundations, retaining structures, pavement, and slope stability. Additionally, he has been retained as a geotechnical, civil, and environmental expert for litigated matters in construction law representing property owners, cities, HOAs, developers and contractors.
Taki enjoys his experiences being an adjunct lecturer at UC Irvine and Cal State Long Beach, and guest lecturing at various other universities. He has performed research at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD level, focusing on ground deformations due to deep excavations, mechanical behavior of tar sands, landfill slope stability, and cyclic response of sensitive soils. He has been an author or co-author for six technical publications in journals and conference proceedings, with more to come, as his PhD studies are currently in progress.
Taki views involvement with professional organizations as critical to the individual and engineering community as a whole. It fosters technical growth, improvement of soft skills, and increases connection within the engineering community. Taki has held board positions with a student, YMF, or Branch ASCE chapter for 12 consecutive years, and is passionate about promoting student involvement, advancing the profession, and providing technical content to ASCE’s membership. Some of his commitments include six years as a Vice-Chair, Chair, and Past-Chair at the OC Geo-Institute Chapter, where he helped grow the new chapter to a fully functioning and self-sustaining group that is among the most active in the country. Additionally, he spent six years on the OC YMF Board as a Geo-Institute Liaison. The past two years he served on the ASCE OC Branch Executive Board as Secretary, and assisted with operation of the branch. On a national level for the past three years, he has served as the Local Involvement Committee member for Region 9, where he provides support and resources to all Region 9 Geo-Institute Chapters.