Executive Principal, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH)

Bill Bruin

William (Bill) Bruin, PE, BC.PE is an Executive Principal at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., where he manages SGH’s Western Structural Engineering Region and is a co-founder of SGH’s Marine Practice Group. A registered Professional Engineer in six states and a Board-Certified Port Engineer, Bill brings over 30 years of expertise in marine and waterfront structural engineering with more than thirty years of experience planning, assessing, designing, and supporting construction for ports, harbors, marine terminals, ferry facilities, wharves, piers, bulkheads, fender systems, mooring systems, and nearshore infrastructure. His work spans container terminals, marine oil terminals, ferry terminals, navigation structures, waterfront redevelopment projects, and post-disaster recovery efforts in the United States and abroad. Bill has led and advised projects involving seismic assessment and retrofit, new pile-supported structures, terminal rehabilitation, cargo-transfer upgrades, dredging-related wharf and embankment improvements, and construction-phase problem-solving in operational waterfront environments. He brings a practical understanding of how structural performance, ground behavior, liquefaction, kinematic pile demands, constructability, permitting, and terminal operations intersect during marine construction. As an ACOPNE Board Certified Port Engineer and active contributor to ASCE/COPRI standards and guidance for piers, wharves, and waterfront facility assessment, Bill is well-positioned to participate in a multidisciplinary discussion with geotechnical and structural engineers about the challenges, successes, and future of marine construction—and how better integration between the two disciplines can improve project outcomes.