“Leadership is characterized by fairness, courtesy, and respect”

Gregory Axten, President, of "American Geotechnical, Inc." is a blend of brilliance, inventiveness, and kindness with 50 years of construction and forensic experience. His ability to treat difficult earth-structure problems makes him nationally and internationally recognized.

With care, honesty, and excellence as their core guiding principles, American Geotechnical is a sought-after engineering firm and provides creative solutions. Dependable, versatile, resourceful, and inventive describe their experts. We're committed to solving geotechnical, civil, and structural difficulties quickly and our forensic expertise allows us to detect and minimize design hazards for our clients, "says Mr. Axten.

Mr. Axten advises fairness, kindness, and respect. Never be angry when expressing your viewpoint. Be mindful of the fact that you'll be conversing with people who may not have as much background knowledge as you have, and refrain from utilizing technical terms. He welcomes criticism like any good leader would. Mr. Axten appreciates God for a good brain, a loving heart, creativity, and wisdom, but he's continually learning and embraces others' comments and criticism. He's receptive to positive disagreements and adds that idea-sharing benefits everyone.

Mr. Axten advises young engineers to work hard to become as excellent as or more creative than their peers. To be successful in business, engineers must embrace at least two of pricing, service, and/or quality, and I prioritize quality, says Axten. Mr. Axten adds that quality and service are what we can offer at levels exceeding the majority of our competition. These qualities come from vast experience and technical skill. American Geotechnical, Inc. engineers have the opportunity to review thousands of failures to better understand what works and why.

Mr. Axten is eager to work with homeowners or governments to solve difficulties. Simple foundation cracks, NASA's largest deep space antenna design, and local dam and levy failures have all been caused by these problems. We are continually implementing the most up-to-date technologies to supplement our computational analyses and professional judgement, says Mr. Axten. For example, we have recently utilized InSar, high resolution satellite radar scans in existence for more than a decade to track ground element differential movements on a millimeter scale. On a local basis, building movements are also being tracked at a sensitivity of better than one part in one million.

“He was a key consultant in evaluating the Millennium Tower, settlement and tilting disaster, aka, The Leaning Tower of San Francisco. More recently, he consulted on behalf of the deceased and survivors of the June 2021Champlain Towers condominium collapse in Florida that killed 98. My assignments were as usual; What went wrong, why, and who was responsible.”

Many engineers don't understand how the environment affects project performance. Engineers and architects will readily do hydraulic studies and tell you what storm drains you need and how to build roofing for rain, but they rarely understand the significance of extended drought. Some may know that California's central valley has sunk a foot or more in a uniform, non-damaging way, says Mr. Axten.

In southern California hillside complexes with 50 to 100-foot clayey slopes, other engineers missed shrinkage and subsidence of several inches to more than a foot. Damage is sometimes misunderstood as settlement or slope creep. For at least 10 years, we've been training engineers and community members about shrinkage-related subsidence, which is sometimes exacerbated by tree growth, adds Mr. Axten.

Our greatest accomplishment is being acknowledged for our proficiency and our willingness to assist any client with any challenge. Due to our excellent reputation, we are sometimes asked to examine circumstances that fall beyond our primary area of expertise. If we are able to assist, we will, but if we are unable to do so, we will supply our clients with credible referrals.

Our projects and solutions are so diverse that it is impossible to identify the most prevalent recommendations, but our policy for producing treatment choices sets us apart from other professionals, says Mr. Axten. The majority of consultants make a single, individual recommendation. In contrast, we strive to not dictate how our clients should spend their money. Similar to doctors who may offer their patients a range of treatment alternatives, from vitamin therapy to surgery, we will, when applicable, describe several treatment options with varied costs, advantages, and dangers. We believe that we have a moral obligation to provide our clients with this information and assist them in making an informed decision.

American Geotechnical, Inc. is a very professional but also family-oriented firm. We do all we can to accommodate your needs for special work hours, working at home, family needs, and more. Mr. Axten states that our senior staff has been with us for decades, and we hope and expect that our younger staff will be with us for decades as well.