This year, nearly 400 employees from across Degenkolb Engineers and Ruby+Associates, a Degenkolb Company, came together in San Francisco for DegCon 2026—our annual conference focused on knowledge sharing, professional development, and strengthening connections across offices and disciplines.
By the numbers, DegCon 2026 included:
- Nearly 400 attendees
- 11 offices represented
- 2 days of learning, collaboration, and connection
- 30 presentations covering technical expertise, project insights, innovation, leadership, and emerging industry trends
- 1 Casino Night social, complete with friendly competition and opportunities to reconnect
- Countless conversations, ideas, and new connections
The result? Two packed days of sharing expertise, exploring lessons learned, celebrating innovation, and bringing together the people behind Degenkolb Engineers and Ruby+Associates.
Beyond the presentations, DegCon continues to serve as an opportunity for employees across offices to strengthen relationships, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute to the culture of continuous learning that drives our work.
Thank you to everyone who presented, participated, and helped make DegCon 2026 one to remember. We’re already looking forward to next year.
DegCon 2026 Presentation Lineup
This year’s presentations covered topics ranging from seismic resilience and emerging technologies to project delivery, communication, sustainability, and leadership:
Structural Engineering, Seismic Design & Technical Innovation
- Linear Thinking, Non-Linear Results: Sutter Mission Bernal’s Damped Moment Frame Story
Heavenz Kaur, Chris Ouyang, Michael Chisholm - New Analysis Type, Who Dis?
Nick Hardisty, Ben Mohr - Stanford Cancer Center (GBR)
David Lam, Travis Chrupalo, James Liu - Wood’ve Could’ve Should’ve, Part II: Construction Lessons Learned from Degenkolb’s First Multi-Story Hybrid Mass Timber Building
Corey Beck, Lucie Fougner - Stand and Deliver: Accelerating Column Anchor Placement with Steel
Chris Wolff - Our First Seismically Isolated Hospital
Daniel Gaspar, Wayne Low - Frequency Asked Questions – Which Slab over Metal Deck Type is Better for Vibration?
Ben Terry, Amy Inhofer - Inserting a Floor into an Existing Theater: CEBC Triggers and the ETABS–Revit–RAM Trifecta
Ray Barakat - Where the Roof Meets the Wall: Single-Story CMU Madness
Jason Scanlan, Michael Cheng, Kim Bocanegra - Updates on Patent: Yielding for Resilience
Felipe Bedecarratz, Parham Pirzadeh - Smarter Slab Analysis with DegPlanes: Point Loads on Elevated Slabs
Drew Twarek, Josh Sizemore - VelociConnX (VCX): Automated Design of Standard Single Plate Shear Connections
Tim Francisco - Using BAI on a New Design Building: Experiences and Lessons Learned
Aram Subramanian, Luis Pancardo, Nancy Zekioglu - UCSF Benioff – LeanSteel® Coordination, Detailing, and Connection Optimization
Nick Dulak
Project Case Studies & Lessons Learned
- Bangalore Office Building Failures and Remediation
Kyle Steuck - New Lock at The Soo – Construction Engineering Support
Eric Hughes - So Your Project Wants a Hole in the Ground
Enrico Alvaro, Jerry Luong - Come Hell AND High Water: Design Challenges of Tsunami Evacuation Structures on the Washington Coast
Ed Kelly, Clare Cummins, Austin Anderson, Addie Albro, Dan Sloat - Particularities in the Analysis and Design of High-End Residences in Mexico
Jorge Reyes, Uriel Galvan - UCDH California Tower: Collaboration on Degenkolb’s Largest Hospital in Scope and Size
Carrie Mitchell, Tim Nelson, Melissa Vickery, Laura Rice, Vincent Wenzel - Risky Business: Seismic Risk Assessment of Manufacturing Facilities in Latin America
Andres Acosta, Hannah Thompson, Ariane Rosario
Technology, Data & Emerging Tools
- If It Sounds Like AI, You Should Probably Start Over
Kenda Salisbury, Rebecca Weldon - Eyes in the Sky: Leveraging Technology to Drastically Increase Building Survey Efficiency
Christopher Neumann - Inventing the Wheel in Forensics: Tapping into Degenkolb’s Talent
Lisa Esquivel, Carlos Rodezno, Michael Chisholm
Sustainability, Standards & Industry Practice
- Influence the Standard, Elevate Your Practice
Jim Malley, Bob Pekelnicky, David Sommer - Where’s the Carbon? Tracking Embodied Carbon Through a Project Life
Elena Good - We Do Permitting?!
Ethan Donovan, Charles Delaporte
Leadership, Communication & Professional Growth
- Design-Build in Motion: Tracking Deliverables and Commitments
Atila Zekioglu, Krishna Marepalli - So…We Need to Talk: Communicating What Clients Don’t Want to Hear
Kenda Salisbury, David Sommer - WAN (Women’s Alliance Network) Panel
Jen Gross, Holly Razzano, Erica Hays, Kenda Salisbury, Lilian Gonzalez, Xiaomi Mitsuhashi, Mayar Zamzam
From advancing technical knowledge to sharing project experiences and fostering meaningful conversations across offices, DegCon 2026 reflected the expertise, curiosity, and collaborative spirit that define Degenkolb.
