Sergio arrived in Tasmania with his family from the chilly Italian Alps at the age of 10. His first stop was at Butlers Gorge where he completed his primary school education.

After completing secondary school in Hobart, Sergio attended the University of Tasmania where he graduated with an Honours degree in Engineering in 1960. In the same year, he was the first migrant to be chosen Tasmanian Rhodes Scholar and studied at the University of Oxford, gaining a doctorate for a thesis on the buckling strength of framed structures.

From that notable beginning in his engineering education, Sergio joined the then Hydro-Electric Commission in 1963 at the age of 25 as an engineer in the Dams Department, where he stayed until 1977.

In 1977, he was promoted to Head of the Structures Department where he directed and helped to design the Pieman Road bridges, Murchison and Mackintosh Highway bridges and the Bastyan and Reece power stations.

In 1983, Sergio was appointed Chief Engineer Design Group One where he managed a group of 18 engineers and scientists involved in hydraulic, geomechanical, geotechnical, mechanical and technical work on the King, Anthony and Gordon power schemes and the Crotty Dam.

Continuing his professional advancement, in 1988 Sergio was appointed Manager of the Civil Investigation and Design Group. Here his responsibility was for the design output of 50 engineers grouped into specialist departments for design, feasibility studies and maintenance of dams, tunnels, structures, gates, hydraulics, roads and future hydro-electric schemes.

In 1991, Sergio became the founding General Manager Consulting where he organised and managed a multi-disciplinary group of 250 people who designed the civil, electrical and electromechanical components of Hydro Tasmania’s last two power schemes.

He was a driving force behind Consulting’s current plans and activities to market its expertise to external clients.

“I’ve very much enjoyed working for Hydro Tasmania, an organisation that has really helped Tasmania develop,” Sergio said.

“I’ve had opportunities I may never have had elsewhere, covering every area of engineering, computer modelling and management.”

Sergio felt his crowning glory was the work he did with Hydro Tasmania Consulting.

“The construction era was ending and there was a distinct possibility we could have lost all the expertise we had built up over the years,” he said.

“In the last nine years we succeeded in keeping the engineering expertise in Tasmania and making it available to other organisations.”


http://www.hydro.com.au/aboutus/annualreports/2000/annual/pages/people_with_skill.html

Sergio

The name Sergio Giudici is known throughout the world for innovative design techniques in major hydro-electric structures.

He has been a pioneer in the renewable energy business. The published results of his work has given Australian engineering in-ternational credit.

In addition, he has been appointed by the World Bank and Asia Development Bank to inter-national panels of eminent engineers, to review the design and afety of dams in China and Indonesia.

He was recognised in 1994 for his endeavour by being awarded a fellowship to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a rare national honour. He is one of five Tasmanians who are fellows of the academy.

Richard Olive, a civil engineer with 35 years of experience, who at present directs the engineering for a group of major dams for the Diavik diamond mining project in the Canadian Arctic, was full of praise for Sergio's expertise.

"I first worked with Sergio in the '60s when computerised methods were just starting to revolutionise engineering practice,"

Richard said.

"These were pioneernig, userunfriendly days and I found Sergio to be a beacon of light in a time of confusion. He was intellectually sharp, inventive and collaborative."

Promoting innovations Sergio, of Hobart, has been a major force in making Hydro Tasmania recognised in the world for three renowned innovations - develop-ing the method for building concrete-faced rock fill dams, developing a cheaper way to stabilise the cavity for underground power stations and for using tunnel boring machines.

Concrete-faced rock fill dams have now become the default choice in many situations throughout the world, in place of older, conventional styles.

Although Sergio is keen to point out that these were not his individual innovations, he was a prime mover in using and refining these technologies within the organisation and promoting them in other parts of the world.

"The major construction period at Hydro Tasmania was an exciting time because we were encouraged to find innovative solutions to engineering challenges.

"I believe this, along with the fact Hydro Tasmania attracted high calibre professionals, was a major reason why the organisation has become a world leader in planning and design of hydro schemes which contain dam and power station construction," Sergio said.

Sergio ends his career at the top of the tree in his chosen areas.

Yesterday was his last day as General Manager Research and Development where he manages a team of engineers and environmental specialists that exploits wind as the next major source of renewable energy in Tasmania and sells Hydro Tasmania's expertise throughout the world.

He started work with the organisation in 1963 at the age of 25 as an Engineer in the Dams Department, his first role since gaining his PhD from Oxford University.

He stayed with the Dams Department until 1977, by which stage he was Senior Engineer. He helped to design the Cethana, Mackenzie and Bastyan concrete-faced rock fill dams and was principal designer of the 140-metre double curvature arch Gordon Dam.

The Gordon Dam is one of the State's icons and the structure for which Sergio gained the most notoriety in Tasmania. He said this project occupied about seven years of his and his design and construction colleagues' lives. He is extremely proud of the asset.

In 1977, he was promoted to Head of the Structures Department. He directed and helped to design the Pieman Road bridges, Murchison and Mackintosh Highway bridges and the Bastyan and Reece power stations.

Both these power stations incorporated an innovative design that shortened construction time and became standard for all sub-sequent Hydro Tasmania power stations.

A steel cylinder sitting on the turbine "sole plate" supported the heavy floor on which the generator rested. This exposed the spiral above its mid-diameter, allowing work to proceed on two levels at the same time.

His next appointment in 1983 was Chief Engineer Design Group.

Sergio continued to climb the ladder, and in 1988 became Manager of the Civil Investigation and Design Group. He was responsible for the design output of 50 engineers grouped into specialist departments for design, feasibility studies and maintenance of dams, tunnels, structures, gates, hydraulics, roads and future hydro-electric schemes.

Yet another innovation was introduced in this period.

The Crotty Dam became the first concrete-faced rock fill dam in the world to have its spillway over the rock fill wall rather than away from the dam.

"We had 20 years observing rock fill dams and all the data indicated the risks were very small, yet it would save the organisation lots of money," Sergio said.

By 1991, Sergio became the founding General Manager Consulting. He organised and managed a multi-disciplinary group of 250 people who designed the civil, electrical and electromechanical components of Hydro Tasmania's last two power schemes, managed the catchments for its 40 large dams, maintained the large dams to the standards of the Intenational Commission Of Large Dams and provided specialist laboratory, geotechnical and survey services to the organisation and to industry in Tasmania.

Last, but by no means least, Sergio and his top people, together with the then marketing group Hydro-Electric Commission Enterprises Corporation (HECEC), "sold" engineering expertise to the world, bringing in revenue from external consulting work.

He and his team visited a number of funding bodies, including the World Bank, in various countries and in 1991, Sergio was involved in his first consultancy in China

Web-site Contents Page

Webmaster/Compiler
Charles Gossage
CONTACT