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Professor Arnold Dix
Tunneling Expert, Author & Keynote Speaker
Speaker Bio
Professor Arnold Dix is the Australian tunnelling expert who led the rescue of 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, in November 2023, an operation that made him known around the world. Those close to it describe him as unshakeable under pressure, someone who made a promise early on that all 41 men would come home alive and they did some 17 days later.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Arnold as a “truly great Australian”.
He is a geologist, engineer and barrister, and a former president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association. In 2026 he returned to disaster response work, after a plea from the Nepalese Government to help in the effort to reach hydropower workers trapped underground after the catastrophic flood that killed thousands.
In January 2025 he published a memoir, "The Promise," through Simon & Schuster, exploring the India rescue through themes of faith, courage and human cooperation. In mid 2026, Aamir Khan Productions, Kabir Khan Films and the Australian studio Mind Blowing Films announced "Silkyara 41," an Indo Australian International feature film based on the rescue. Arnold called it "an extraordinary story" that will be "brought to audiences around the world."
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Arnold as a “truly great Australian”.
He is a geologist, engineer and barrister, and a former president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association. In 2026 he returned to disaster response work, after a plea from the Nepalese Government to help in the effort to reach hydropower workers trapped underground after the catastrophic flood that killed thousands.
In January 2025 he published a memoir, "The Promise," through Simon & Schuster, exploring the India rescue through themes of faith, courage and human cooperation. In mid 2026, Aamir Khan Productions, Kabir Khan Films and the Australian studio Mind Blowing Films announced "Silkyara 41," an Indo Australian International feature film based on the rescue. Arnold called it "an extraordinary story" that will be "brought to audiences around the world."
Session
Tuesday, 17 November, 2026 09:00 AM - 09:45 AM AEDT
Guest Keynote: Critical Thinking Under Pressure
Professor Arnold Dix,
Tunneling Expert, Author & Keynote Speaker
Most people think of critical thinking as an academic skill, something exercised calmly, at a desk, with time to weigh the evidence. Professor Arnold Dix has spent his career proving otherwise. As the engineer called in to lead the world’s highest-profile underground rescues, he has had to make irreversible, life-or-death decisions with incomplete information, conflicting expert opinion, and the eyes of the world watching in real time.
This keynote draws on Professor Dix’s own experience at the rock face to teach audiences how to think clearly when the stakes are highest: how to separate signal from noise, resist the pressure to act merely to appear decisive, question assumptions everyone else has stopped questioning, and make sound decisions when no “right” answer exists, only a better one. ... Show More Show Less
This keynote draws on Professor Dix’s own experience at the rock face to teach audiences how to think clearly when the stakes are highest: how to separate signal from noise, resist the pressure to act merely to appear decisive, question assumptions everyone else has stopped questioning, and make sound decisions when no “right” answer exists, only a better one. ... Show More Show Less