Dr. Polivka is the Managing Principal of DeSimone Consulting Engineers' office in San Francisco, California. He has over 30 years of diverse experience in providing senior-level operational, management and technical support for a wide variety of projects. His expertise focuses upon evaluation and design of both existing and new buildings in high seismic and wind zones. Dr. Polivka's present responsibilities include overall operational management of the San Francisco office. The office is responsible for the design of several notable projects, including the Ko'olani Towers in Honolulu, the Akron Art Museum Expansion in Akron, Ohio, the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke and the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

Dr. Polivka received his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics from the University of California at Berkeley, is an active member of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California and is a Fellow of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and Tau Beta Pi. For 10 years, he served both as President and Board Member of the Engineering Alumni Society at the University of California at Berkeley. He previously served as a lecturer with San Francisco State University, teaching a course on structural analysis.