Bruce Gray, P.E., President
Senior Geotechnical Engineer

A native of Orrington, Maine, Bruce has more than 30 years of experience in the geotechnical consulting field. He attended schools in Orrington and Brewer, Maine before attending the University of Maine, where he graduated with a BS degree in Civil Engineering. After graduating, Bruce worked as a geotechnical engineer in the Bangor office of Jordan Gorrill Associates. When Jordan Gorrill closed the Bangor office in 1979, Bruce moved to the company’s Portland office, then relocated to the Bangor area to join S.W. Cole Engineering in 1980.

Bruce served as Vice President of S.W. Cole from 1980 until his appointment to Senior Vice President in 1999, and was appointed President of the firm in 2002 and now serves as the Chairman of the Board. His responsibilities include corporate and project management duties, technical analysis, and design of shallow and deep foundations and earth slopes. Bruce has provided geotechnical engineering for a wide variety of projects and has substantial experience with compressible soil sites.

Paul Kohler, P.E., Vice president
Senior Geotechnical Engineer
Gray, Maine Office Manager

Paul Kohler is a native of Pittsfield, Maine, where he attended Maine Central Institute and gained construction experience working for Cianbro Corporation. He attended the University of Maine, where he earned AS degrees in Plant and Soil Technology and Civil Engineering, and a BS degree in Civil Engineering.

Paul joined the Bangor office of S.W. Cole Engineering in 1985 as a Geotechnical Engineer. He transferred to our Gray, Maine office in 1996 to manage the office, and is currently a Senior Geotechnical Engineer at our Gray office.

Paul’s responsibilities include office and firm management, management of geotechnical engineering projects, coordination of subsurface investigations, technical analysis, and design of shallow and deep foundation systems and earth slopes. He also has experience with specialized investigations and foundation work in heavy industry, including piling, rock anchors, and underpinning.

Robert Chaput, P.E., Vice President
Senior Geotechnical Engineer
Augusta, Maine Office Manager

Bob Chaput is a native of Winthrop, Maine who has been an integral part of the growth of S.W. Cole, having helped start two of our branch locations. Bob attended the University of Maine, where he earned an A. S. degree in Civil Engineering and a B. S. in Construction Management Technology. Recently, Bob earned an M. S. degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Maine in 2004. During college, he worked as an engineering technician for S.W. Cole in Bangor and for Morrison Geotechnical Engineering in Winslow, Maine. In 1990, Bob rejoined S.W. Cole as an Engineering Technician and helped start our new office in Gray, Maine. The firm later promoted him to the position of Geotechnical Engineer, and in 1999, after S.W. Cole acquired the former operation of Morrison Geotechnical Engineering, Bob moved to our new Winslow, Maine office and oversaw its eventual move to Augusta, Maine.

Bob is a Vice President, Senior Geotechnical Engineer and the manager of our Augusta office. His responsibilities include office management and project management of geotechnical engineering projects, coordination of subsurface investigations, technical analysis, and design of shallow and deep foundations and earth slopes.

Dave Dunning
Senior Environmental Scientist, Marketing Director

Dave Dunning has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental consulting field, and serves as the Marketing Director of S.W. Cole. Dave was born in Bangor, Maine and grew up in Southern New England and upstate New York. He graduated from high school outside Buffalo, New York and attended Cornell University, where he earned a BS degree in Environmental Technology. He joined S.W. Cole in 1986 as a Laboratory Technician and worked as an Engineering Technician after graduating from Cornell in 1987, becoming a Project Manager for Environmental Services shortly afterwards.

Dave’s responsibilities include managing and providing phase one and phase two environmental site assessments, Maine VRAP and EPA Brownfields projects, hazardous waste closure studies, and remediation of contaminated sites.  He also serves as the Secretary/Treasurer of S.W. Cole.

Gary W. Bucklin, C.G.
Senior Geologist

Gary was raised in Durham, Maine. He attended the University of Southern Maine, earning a B.A. in Earth Science, His interest in geology took the form of a hobby before a career. Gary has been a rock-hound, collecting rock specimens and gems in the hills and mountains of western Maine, for many years.

He joined S. W. Cole Engineering, Inc. as an Engineering Technician in November 1990. He was reassigned to the position of Environmental Scientist in 1993, and Senior Geologist in 2001. He is also a Maine Certified Geologist.  His experience includes gravel pit permitting, phase one and phase two environmental site assessments; underground storage tank site assessments; groundwater monitoring and soil sampling. Environmental projects have included a CERCLIS manufactured gas plant site, waste processing facilities, industrial facilities, large tract timberlands and UST sites, with projects in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. He has worked on projects in the MDEP VRAP program, and served as the Project Manager for Brownfields projects and third-party erosion control projects in Maine.

Chad B. Michaud, P.E.
Senior Geotechnical Engineer
Somersworth, NH Office Manager

Chad grew up in Millinocket, Maine and went to Stearns High School before attending the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. Chad attributes his interest in the construction and geotechnical fields to his early childhood activities of literally playing in the “dirt” and tagging along with his father when he worked as an equipment operator.

Chad joined S. W. Cole Engineering, Inc. in Bangor, Maine in 1999 as a Geotechnical Engineer. In 2001, Chad transferred to our Somersworth, NH office, which he now manages. His responsibilities with the firm as a Senior Geotechnical Engineer are to manage projects, provide contract development, coordination of subcontractors and subconsultants, coordination of subsurface investigations, and providing geotechnical design and specifications. Mr. Michaud has experience providing soils engineering services on a variety of projects including roadways, airports, wastewater treatment facilities and lagoons, gas pipelines, municipal buildings, schools, towers, large retail facilities and industrial structures in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts. He has significant experience providing geotechnical evaluation and global stability analyses for segmental mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls.

Dean Larrabee
Construction Services

Dean Larrabee is a native of Blaine, Maine in Aroostook County. He attended the University of Maine and served in the military before joining Jordan Gorrill Associates as an engineering technician where he worked for 11 years. In 1981 he joined S.W. Cole as Manager of Field Services including construction quality control and field testing services.

Dean’s experience includes concrete quality control, asphalt quality control, structural steel observation, bolt and visual weld observation, post tensioning observation, soil compaction control, blast monitoring and pre-blast surveys, verification testing of rock anchors, pile load tests, concrete batch plant observations, data analysis, computations and report writing, fireproof testing and observation of structural steel and project meetings.

elizabeth Champeon, C.G.
Senior Consultant

Liz Champeon’s family ties are deeply rooted in England, both New and Olde. Born in England, she attended school in a suburb of Boston. With her fathers’ family in Downeast Maine, she spent much of her childhood in Maine before attending the University of Maine, where she earned a B.A. in Geology. As a surveyor and geologist, she has worked for consultants in Indiana and New York, and for state and federal agencies and consultants in Maine. She also has worked in the mining industry in Maine.

Liz joined S.W. Cole in 1980. She serves as a Senior Consultant for hydrogeological and groundwater resource investigations, geothermal well studies, assessment of seismic risk, and agricultural water use management plans.