David West Johnston is the Edward I. Weisiger Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Construction Engineering. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1944, he received his degrees at North Carolina State University, a BS in Civil Engineering Construction Option in 1966, MS in Civil Engineering in 1968, and PhD in Civil Engineering in 1972. Following 7 years of industry experience as engineer and partner of firms in the Connecticut/New York area, he joined the North Carolina State University faculty in 1977 where he served in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering until his retirement in December 2010. From 1997 until 2007 he was Associate Head and Director of Graduate Programs. In 2008, he was named Edward I. Weisiger Distinguished Professor in Construction Engineering.

He became a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1983, a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute in 1983 and an Honorary Member of the Professional Construction Estimators Association in 1979. His activities in these organizations has included service as chair and member of ACI Committee 347 Formwork for Concrete, chair and member of the ASCE-CI Construction Research Council, chair and member of the ASCE-CI Construction Engineering Education Committee, member of ASCE Committee on Design Loads on Structures During Construction, member of the ASCE Committee on Curricula and Accreditation, and member of ACI Committee 315 Detailing of Reinforcement. In 2015, he was inducted into the National Academy of Construction and in 2023 he became an Honorary Member of the American Concrete Institute.

Dr. Johnston’s teaching included many construction engineering courses over the years but particularly those emphasizing design of engineered systems for the construction process. He is author of the 8th edition of ACI SP-4 Formwork for Concrete published in 2014. His research areas included design of temporary structures for construction, bridge and building infrastructure management systems, and failure of buildings, bridges and temporary structures.

He has served as a program evaluator evaluator for the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission and founded and chaired the Construction Engineering PE Exam Module Subcommittee for the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. During his career he became licensed as a Professional Engineer in North Carolina, New York and Connecticut.