Following high school graduation, David attended and graduated from Marquette University in 1958 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering. He went on to receive his Master of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1960 and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1963. David has served as the Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah and currently holds the position of Director, Quality and Integrity Design Engineering Center (QIDEC) as well as being a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah. After his Ph.D., he worked in industry for ten years before returning to academics at the University of Missouri-Columbia as a Professor of Engineering where he founded the first Structural Integrity and Materials Sciences Program in the USA. From 1978-1985 he held the endowed Cockburn Professor position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. While at U. of T. he directed the Cockburn Centre of Engineering Design and founded the Structural Integrity, Fatigue and Fracture Research Laboratories there. David has supervised the Ph.D. theses of 40 students and 85 M.S. student theses. As well, he has supervised senior projects and theses of over 200 undergraduate engineering students. He has received numerous honors and awards, including being listed in American Men of Science, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Outstanding Young Men of America, and Outstanding Educators of America. He was the recipient of the 2005 Utah Governor's Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Science and Technology and has been invited to be a presenter numerous times and has numerous publications. He has edited seven books and co-authored a book on Corrosion Case Studies of Aircraft for NATO. In his community, he is an active volunteer in engineering societies, Boy Scouts, and his church.