Unique European Thor Heyerdahl professorship

Henrik Mikkelsen

What is the Thor Heyerdahl professorship and why was it established? On Friday 19 September these questions will be answered during a special event at the Thor Heyerdahl Institute in Larvik.

Professor Arild Vatn at UMB's Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric recently received the professorship and will thus be associated with the famous adventurer Thor Heyerdahl for the next four years.

The Thor Heyerdahl professorship is expected to build an academic platform within the themes of health, environment and development. This will be done through interdisciplinary and problem-oriented approaches and scientific collaboration between several departments at UMB and national and international institutions.

Who is Arild Vatn?
Prof. Arild Vatn received his PhD in Agricultural Economics at the former Agricultural University of Norway (NLH) in 1983 and is internationally recognized through various publications. He recently received the Thorstein Veblen prize from the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE) and the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy' (EAEPE) for the book “Institutions and the Environment”. Vatn is also chair of the Norwegian Research Council’s programme “Environment 2015” and president of the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE).

Thor Heyerdahl professorship
The 4-year professorship is funded equally by Noragric and the Thor Heyerdahl Institute and is housed at Noragric which coordinates UMB’s “Health and Development” programme.

Thor Heyerdahl Institute
The Thor Heyerdahl Institute promotes and develops research and development ideals that were central to Thor Heyerdahl’s life and work. The Institute was established in 2000 and is based in Heyerdahl's birthplace, Larvik.

Support to the Institute
The commune of Vestfold and the city of Larvik have supported the Heyerdahl Institute financially since it was established and it has received additional State funding since 2006. The Institute runs several local, regional, national and international projects.
Further information can be found on www.heyerdahl-institute.no

Friday's (preliminary) programme
15:00 Welcome by Chairman of the Board of the Thor Heyerdahl Institute, Knut Pihl
15:05-15:20 Thor Heyerdahl professorship - what is it and why was it established? By Professor and Board member Willy Østreng, Thor Heyerdahl Institute
15:20-15:25 Professor N. Shanmugratnam, Noragric, chairman of the nomination committee for the Thor Heyerdahl professorship
15:25-15:35 The Thor Heyerdahl professorship: process and results. By Associate Professor Cassandra Bergstrøm, coordinator of UMB's Health and Development programme
15:35-15:40 A greeting from the Heyerdahl family by Thor Heyerdahl Jr.
15:40-16:10 Sustainable development: an interdisciplinary exploration. By Professor Arild Vatn
16:10-16:20 Closure by UMB's Pro-rector for Research, Professor Ruth Haug
16:30 End of programme

Updated: 18.09.08
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Norwegian University of Life Sciences

is a leading international centre of knowledge, focused on higher education and research within environmental- and biosciences. UMB focuses specifically on biology, food, environment, land use and natural resource management.

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB)
P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Aas
Norway
Tel: + 47 64 96 50 00
Fax: + 47 64 96 50 01

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Additional information

www.heyerdahl-institute.no

Photos from the Thor Heyerdahl professorship presentation event.