Academic Credentials
  • M.S., Engineering Mechanics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1989
  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1988
  • M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1984
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1982
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Civil, California, #47585
  • Professional Engineer Structural, California, #4330
  • Professional Engineer, Hawaii, #PE-12310
  • Professional Engineer Structural, Nevada, #21563
  • Professional Engineer, Oregon, #81321PE
  • Professional Engineer Structural, Oregon, #81321PE
  • Professional Engineer Civil and Structural, Washington, #37689
  • Professional Engineer, Wisconsin, #35893-6
Academic Appointments
  • Former Adjunct Professor and current Adjunct Lecturer, Stanford University
Professional Honors
  • Chair of the Nonductile Concrete Subcommittee for the Structural Engineers Association of California
Professional Affiliations
  • Fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (member #270581)
  • Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (Member SE, past Chair of the Existing Buildings Committee, past Chair of the Research Committee, past Chair of Nonductile Concrete Subcommittee)
  • American Concrete Institute (member #00121237)
  • American Institute of Steel Construction (member #064972)
  • Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (member ID 8096)

Dr. McDonald is a California licensed Civil and Structural engineer who specializes in the design and construction of critical structures. He has extensive experience in structural damage assessment and quantitative risk assessment of structures exposed to earthquakes as well as extreme winds, flooding and wildfires in the context of a changing climate. During his more than 35 years at Exponent, Dr. McDonald has evaluated industrial, nuclear, transportation, residential and commercial structures constructed of wood, concrete, masonry and steel.

Dr. McDonald provides quantitative risk assessments for electrical transmission structures, power plants, nuclear structures at national laboratories, and industrial facilities. This work included the evaluation of loss estimates and retrofit strategies for California residential structures subject to intense earthquake ground shaking. Dr. McDonald also provides design peer review services for the design of complex structures, including safety-critical nuclear power plant structures, applying state-of-the-art Risk-Informed, Performance-Based (RIPB) engineering principles. He has specialized expertise in engineering-based assessment and mitigation of the wildfire ignition risk posed by overhead power lines. He has worked closely with several utilities to evaluate their asset portfolios and construct frameworks for risk-informed decisions regarding the management and operation of overhear power line assets.

Forensic investigations led by Dr. McDonald include structures damaged by wind, snow, explosion, fire, construction errors, design defects, decay and corrosion. He has assessed hundreds of structures damaged by earthquakes including Loma Prieta, Northridge, San Simeon, and Hawaii. Dr. McDonald's work often includes nonlinear and dynamic structural simulations, fracture and plasticity analyses, and laboratory material testing.

Dr. McDonald has held several positions in the fields of structural engineering and software design including line designer and risk analyst at Wisconsin Power and Light, and later as Chief Analyst at Krawinkler, Luth, and Associates, a leading structural design firm. He has taught a graduate level course in Finite Element Analysis at Stanford University, where he is currently an Adjunct Lecturer teaching a graduate course on the performance of structures. Dr. McDonald chairs the American Society of Civil Engineers committee that develops and maintains design standards for nuclear structures, and is an invited member of the Nuclear Standards Committee. He previously sat on the Boad of Directors for the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, where he is an active member where he has contributed to the ongoing development of structural codes and standards for existing structures.