Professor Anna Giacomini FTSE
Rockfall mechanics maestro
Professor Anna Giacomini is Australia’s leading expert on rockfall mechanics and protection design. Extreme weather events are set to spark more rockfall instabilities, requiring big investment to assess and reduce risk to both people and infrastructure.
Anna and her team built a world-first rock fragmentation facility, where they have unearthed important details of rockfall dynamics and fragmentation. Her findings have wide-ranging applications with substantial economic, social and environmental benefits. For example, Anna’s research has directly informed the design of rockfall mitigation measures, such as wire safety netting, as well as design guidelines and management approaches adopted by government and industry.
Anna’s research is invaluable to the mining and geotechnical industries, where workers operate in close proximity to rockfaces.