Anthony M. “Tony” DiGioia Jr., who established a reputation as an expert in geotechnical engineering for power transmission lines has died. He was 89.
DiGioia, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, and Carnegie Mellon University classmate Richard Gray were chosen by a professor, Elio D’Appolonia, to join his firm. They eventually bought out their professor and launched General Analytics Inc., providing services to the energy, transportation, development, government, and industrial markets.
DiGioia’s leadership as president propelled GAI to international success with 600 employees. After retiring in 2004 he again teamed with Gray to found DiGioia Gray & Associates.
His pioneering approach was evident in research he conducted throughout his career, including work in recent decades on transmission line resilience and the impacts of climate change.
Born in 1934 in Pittsburgh, DiGioia was called up as an infantryman during the 1961 Berlin crisis and was later assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
At the-then Carnegie Institute of Technology, he earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in civil engineering, and went on to teach geotechnical and structural engineering courses to advisory roles and council memberships, helping to shape the department's trajectory.
DiGioia retained a lifetime loyalty to Carnegie Mellon, and his family established the Anthony M. DiGioia Jr. and Richard E. Gray Engineering Scholarship Fund, honoring their commitment to nurturing future engineering talents. Learn more about the fund.
Among his many honors, DiGioia was named Distinguished Member in 1999, the Pittsburgh Section’s Civil Engineer of the Year Award in 1980, and the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania’s Metcalf Award in 1998.
