Stability Analysis of Embankment Dams: Instructors

John W. France, P.E., D.GE, D.WRE
JWF Consulting LLC, President

John France has over 50 years of consulting engineering experience. Most of his technical work has focused on dams and water retention structures. He has been responsible for the evaluation, analysis, design, and construction of embankment and roller compacted concrete dams and their appurtenant structures. He has served on numerous senior technical review boards and panels for dam safety projects for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the Tennessee Valley Authority; BC Hydro; Brookfield Renewable Energy; and Eagle Creek Hydropower. John was the team leader for the Independent Forensic Teams tasked with investigating the 2017 Oroville Dam spillway incident and the 2020 failures of Edenville and Sanford Dams, MI. He is an instructor for ASDSO training courses on seepage, stability analysis, and emergency action planning, and he has presented numerous ASDSO webinars and workshops on various geotechnical topics. John has twice received the ASDSO President’s Award, and in 2022 he received ASDSO’s Danny McCook Medal for contributions to geotechnical engineering practice in dam safety.

John Rice, Ph.D., P.E., G.E.
Schnabel Engineering
Senior Technical Consultant

John Rice, Ph.D., P.E., G.E. is a Senior Technical Consultant at Schnabel Engineering in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Rice received his PhD in 2008 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University specializing in geotechnical engineering. He is a registered geotechnical engineer in California since 1999 and registered civil engineer in California since 1993. From 2008 to 2024 Dr. Rice was an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering program at the Utah State University at Logan, Utah. Dr. Rice’s teaching record at Utah State University includes Embankments, Dams, and Slopes; Ground Improvement; Advanced Shear Strength of Soils; Risk Assessment for Dams and Levees; and Foundation Analysis and Design. Before his career in academia, Dr. Rice worked for 16 years as a geotechnical consultant in California including extensive work on the Sacramento levee system.  In 2013 he was awarded the Engineering Educator of the Year Award by the Utah Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Harry C. Donaghy
AECOM
Geotechnical Engineer 

Harry Donaghy is a registered professional engineer with 6 years of experience in geotechnical and dam engineering. He supported the Independent Forensic Team’s investigation of the Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam failures. He co-authored a guidance document on “Seepage and Slope Stability Modeling for Embankment Dams,” and recently presented an Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) webinar on slope stability modeling. Each year he helps teach the ASDSO technical seminars on “Seepage through Earth Dams” and “Stability Analysis of Embankment Dams.”