Arnold Dix Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

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Arnold Dix is an Australian geologist, an engineer, and a lawyer. He is known for being a tunnelling expert. In November 2023, he played a key role in the 400-hour rescue operation to pull out 41 workers who were stuck in the Uttarkashi tunnel.

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Wiki/Biography

Arnold E Dix ^[1]Victorian Bar was born on Sunday, 8 March 1964 (age 60 years; as of 2024) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His zodiac sign is Pisces. He belongs to Monbulk, Victoria, Australia. He attended Haileybury Rendall School in Australia. From 1982 to 1986, he studied geotechnical and geoenvironmental science and law at Monash University in Australia. ^[2]LinkedIn – Arnold Dix

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 11″

Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper

Eye Colour: Hazel

Family

Parents & Siblings

There is not much information about his parents and siblings.

Wife & Children

His wife’s name is Divina Dix.

Arnold Dix’s wife

Career

Arnold Dix is a top global expert on building tunnels underground. He works as the president of the International Tunnelling Underground Space. Arnold Dix is renowned for his knowledge about keeping tunnels safe and responding to disasters. He offers guidance on the potential dangers of constructing things below the ground. Arnold Dix has had a diverse professional background. He worked as a scientist at the Office of Supervising Scientists in Australia from November 1985 to March 1986. Later, he was a partner at Maddock Lonie and Chisholm from May 2009 to May 2011. During his career, Arnold worked as a special consultant at DLA Piper from 2007 to 2012 and became a partner at Dla Phillips Fox. Arnold Dix has played a major role in addressing and reducing the risks of disasters, as well as responding to actual disaster situations. He conducted investigations into various incidents, including the 9/11 disaster in New York (focusing on underground aspects), the London Bombings, and the Madrid Bombings. He has also been involved in assessing fire-related disasters like the Daegu Metro Fires and Hong Kong Metro fires. He also was an adjunct associate professor at the University of West Sydney from 2010 to 2017 in Australia. Arnold’s international experience includes serving as a visiting professor at Tokyo City University in Japan from 2017 to 2019. He was vice president at the International Tunnelling Association (ITA) in Switzerland from April 2020 to September 2022. In the legal field, Arnold worked as a strategic advisor at White & Case LLP from March 2022 to June 2023. He has been a corporate lawyer and barrister since 1989 in Australia and has been part of the NFPA committee since 1998. He has also been an executive committee member at the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association since 2017. Since 1999, Arnold Dix has been involved in various capacities at Arnold Dix – Consulting Firm, serving as a lifeguard, scientist, and lawyer. He has also been associated with ALARP since 2001 and has been involved in underground works chambers at Legal & Technical since March 2020. Furthermore, he has been contributing to ITA-AITES since May 2022.

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue

The Uttarkashi Tunnel incident occurred at the Silkyara Tunnel on 12 November 2023, trapping 41 workers inside. The primary cause behind the collapse appears to be a lack of proper care and safety measures. Arnold Dix and his team were actively engaged in rescue efforts, employing various methods. Micro tunnelling was being utilized to access the trapped workers. The workers were waiting inside the tunnel for rescue, with limited access to food and water. The initial step involves digging a vertical shaft from the top of the hill down to the tunnel to reach the trapped individuals. The day after successfully rescuing 41 workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand following a 17-day operation, tunnelling expert Arnold Dix expressed his intention to return to the makeshift temple outside the tunnel. He mentioned the need to go back there to say thank you. He said the success of the rescue operation of the trapped workers was a ‘miracle.’ In an interview, while talking about why he prayed at the makeshift temple of local deity Baba Bokh Naag Ji, he said,

I have to go to the temple because I promised to say thank you for what happened. If you haven’t noticed, we have just witnessed a miracle.” ^[3]NDTV

#WATCH | International tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix offers prayers before local deity Baba Bokhnaag at the temple at the mouth of Silkyara tunnel after all 41 men were safely rescued after the 17-day-long operation pic.twitter.com/xoMBB8uK52

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2023

Awards, Honours, Achievements

2011: Alan Neyland Australasian Tunnelling Society bi-annual award for excellence in tunnelling (tunnel fire safety) and his contribution to fire safety in the world

2022: Committee Service Award by the National Fire Protection Association of the United States of America

2023: Order of Australia

Facts/Trivia

He is a member of many organizations including VPELA (Victorian Planning & Environmental Law Association), ACICA (Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration), Guinness Book of Records extreme engineering verifier (tunnels), and Committee Member of WG2 (Risk Assessment) PIARC (World Road Association).

He is often invited as a guest speaker to speak on the subjects including subsurface infrastructure, tunnelling, mining and underground works, in Australia and overseas.