Dr Jane Sargison (’93)

Engineering and Rhodes Scholar

Jane Sargison graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1997 with a Bachelor of Engineering, First Class Honours and the University Medal. She worked for WBM Consulting Engineers during 1998 when she was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to complete her DPhil at the University of Oxford between 1998 and 2001.

Dr Sargison is the Managing Director of JSA Consulting Engineers, in Tasmania. Her business employs 10 people and is a niche consultancy specialising in Civil and Structural Engineering design for residential and commercial building projects.

During her studies at Oxford developed cutting-edge technologies used in Rolls Royce aero engines. Her business and research interests in renewable energy included a project aimed at generating energy from biomass resulting in low-cost carbon sequestration. In 2011 Jane was named National Professional Engineer of the Year in recognition of her contribution to the profession, her innovative approach to engineering projects, communication and work in supporting young people to study engineering.

Her recent roles have included, Director and Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee for TasNetworks, the Tasmanian Distribution and Transmission Network Government Business Enterprise, and Director of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, (a government agency established to consolidate $3.2 billion in funding to support the research, development and deployment of renewable energy technology in Australia). Other recent roles have included Director on the boards of the Australian Institute of Energy, National Mechanical College of Engineers Australia, Southern Water Tasmania and TasWater, and a member of the AusIndustry Clean Technology Innovation Committee, Building Regulation Advisory Committee and the Tasmanian Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee

Other former roles have included Deputy Director of the Centre for Renewable Energy and Power Systems and Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tasmania. As a former Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania, Jane’s research interests included experimental and computational fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and heat transfer.

Jane was the Tasmanian State Finalist in the 2013 Australian of the Year awards.

The Sargison Library was named by The Collegiate Alumni Association (formally, The Collegiate Old Girls’ Association) in recognition of the achievements of Dr Jane Sargison.