University of Oslo
(Universitetet i Oslo)
Norway
Shortname: UiO
Description of the organization
The University of Oslo (Norwegian: Universitetet i Oslo) is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university has approximately 27,000 students and employs around 7,000 people. It has faculties of Theology, Law, Medicine, Humanities, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Dentistry, and Education. The university's old neoclassical campus is located in the centre of Oslo and is currently occupied by the Faculty of Law, whereas most of the other faculties are located at the newer Blindern campus in the suburban West End. The Faculty of Medicine is split between several university hospitals in the Oslo area. The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo holds a long and proud tradition within research and education in Norway. The research that is conducted covers a broad field of subjects within natural sciences and technology.
The Faculty has several excellent research environments and competent researchers, many of which cutting edge within their areas of specialization both nationally and internationally. The Faculty has about 4350 students and about 1000 academic staff. In 2005 UiO created a Centre for Accelerator based Research and Energy Physics (Norwegian acronym SAFE) with the aim of strengthening education, research and competence in Norway within the Nuclear Sciences. SAFE was based on the Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Chemistry research groups at the Department of Physics and Chemistry, respectively. In addition it includes the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory (OCL). Since then more than 4 million euro has been invested in upgrading our infrastructure and labs. Furthermore, several new positions have been established. SAFE is based on fundamental research, but emphasis is also on practical application within medicine and industry. Right from the start it was clear that to secure Norwegian competence within nuclear science; it would have to be done in close cooperation with the Institute for Energy Research (Norwegian acronym IFE) which runs Norway’s two research reactors and the other major universities. Currently, SAFE has 7 staff scientists and in total about 50 people (staff, technicians, students and visitors) associated to the centre.
Main tasks attributed / previous experience related to those tasks
UiO is the only institution in Norwaywhich provides education in all the major physics and chemistry nuclear research fields. The university provides about 12-15 courses related to nuclear topics, ranging from BSc levels to advanced PhD courses. UiO has been an active partner in the CINCH-I project. In particular, UiO’s extensive experience in e-learning methods and technology has been useful. For CINCH-II, our experience from the previous RoboLab project (with remote controlled laboratories) will be an important input since we will coordinate WP No.3.
Short profiles of the key staff members
Prof Jon Petter Omtvedt is heading the UiO contribution to the CINCH-I project. He got his PhD degree in 1995 and was employed as associate prof. at the Department of Chemistry immediately afterwards. He was promoted to professor in 2002. He initialized the establishment of the SAFE centre and headed the centre in the period 2005-2010. He heads the Nuclear Chemistry Research Group. His main research activity is to study the chemical properties of the super-heavy elements (the transactinides). He has applied for, been awarded, and headed many Norwegian Research Council projects.