David is a Professor in Ground Engineering and Head of the School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton.

Technical interests include the geotechnical aspects of ageing infrastructure, large-scale field monitoring, the engineering behaviour and characterisation (pre and post processed) of landfill wastes, and the mechanical characterization of chalk using CT imaging techniques and cyclic simple shear tests. He has undertaken extensive studies into the rate loading effects of electricity transmission tower (shallow) footing systems involving both scaled physical modelling techniques in a geotechnical centrifuge and through field monitoring. He is PI for the £26M BEIS/EPSRC funded UKCRIC National Infrastructure Laboratory on the Boldrewood Campus and UKCRIC Coordination Node (CN) Director of Strategy – the CN is working to deliver a networked suite of national research test facilities.

Teaching covers all aspects of geotechnics and foundations with particular interests in the broad aspects of engineering design. Working with industrial collaborators and recent graduates, he leads the Civil Engineering Part 1 Constructionarium located at the National Construction College, Norfolk.

David was awarded a Gledden Senior Visiting Fellowship by the University of Western Australia, Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems in 2001. He is a co-recipient of the IMechE Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal and the John F Alcock Memorial Prize, 2007, an ICE Telford Premium, 2009 and the ICE Curtin Medal, 2016.

David is also Head of UKCRIC Test Facilities.