Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Welcomes Geotechnical Expert Benjamin Serna
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) is pleased to announce the addition of senior leader Benjamin Serna to its Heavy Civil & Marine practice, further expanding the firm’s geotechnical and seismic expertise on the West Coast. He joins SGH as a Technical Director in the firm’s San Francisco Bay Area office.
Ben brings deep experience delivering geotechnical earthquake engineering solutions for port and waterfront infrastructure, marine terminals, dams, buildings, transportation systems, and other critical facilities. While he is widely recognized for his work in the marine and waterfront space, his expertise extends broadly to complex geotechnical engineering challenges across diverse infrastructure systems and ground conditions.
He has led complex onshore and overwater site investigations and seismic hazard evaluations spanning ground motion development, liquefaction and slope stability analysis, and deep foundation design. His work supports the full project lifecycle from planning and design through construction on high-value infrastructure in seismically active regions.
“I am excited to join SGH and be part of an employee-owned firm with such a strong culture of collaboration and technical excellence,” said Ben. “The opportunity to contribute to world-class projects while working alongside a team that is deeply committed to innovation and client service is very encouraging. I look forward to helping grow the firm’s geotechnical and earthquake engineering capabilities.”
The opportunity to contribute to world-class projects while working alongside a team that is deeply committed to innovation and client service is very encouraging.
Ben will help advance SGH’s integrated approach to projects, connecting geotechnical insight with practical design solutions across sectors. His leadership will further strengthen the firm’s ability to deliver resilient, high-performing infrastructure for clients facing increasingly complex environmental and seismic challenges.
He serves as Co-Chair of the ASCE COPRI Seismic Design of Bulkheads Task Committee while maintaining involvement in the San Francisco Geo-Institute Chapter of ASCE; the California Geotechnical Engineering Association; and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. He has also authored publications on the use of ground improvement for the mitigation of liquefaction potential, influence of dynamic behavior of soft clay on seismic pier response, and effects of gravels on liquefaction potential for high hazard dams.
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