“I am excited to step up as Board Chair at NORSAR after serving on the Board since 2024. NORSAR, as one of the world’s leading institutions in detection seismology, is poised to take on an even more important role in national security and preparedness, as well as in international security, conflict monitoring and arms control,” says Ole Harbitz.

“NORSAR’s world-leading seismic monitoring infrastructure and signal-processing capabilities are the result of more than 55 years of international research collaboration, beginning as a Norwegian-American effort to monitor nuclear tests during the Cold War. These capabilities are unfortunately highly relevant again today. The fact that we can attract international candidates such as Camilla and Jens to our Board reflects both this reality and NORSAR’s unique position in detection seismology,” says Birger Steen, CEO of NORSAR.

Camilla Stoltenberg agrees:“I am curious about NORSAR and committed to our entire research ecosystem. The offer of a board position in NORSAR is an honour and an opportunity to both learn and contribute to excellent research and innovation in Norway in the future. I believe that NORSAR has become even more relevant given the geopolitical developments we have seen in recent years”, says Camilla Stoltenberg.

Dr Jens G. Mattsson sees his new board position as an opportunity to help strengthen and expand NORSAR’s critical role:

“I felt honoured to be offered this opportunity. After speaking with Birger, I concluded that serving on the NORSAR Board would be a great way to use my experience and support the valuable long-term relationship between FOI and NORSAR. I see significant potential to help strengthen and expand the critical role that NORSAR currently plays. The unpredictable and unstable geopolitical situation is a concern for all of us, and the international arms-control architecture is under pressure. By maintaining vigilance, as NORSAR does, we can make a meaningful contribution to international peace and security. I am very much looking forward to becoming part of NORSAR,” says Jens G. Mattsson.

Ole Harbitz, Board Chair        

Ole Harbitz is former Director General of the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA - Direktoratet for strålevern og atomsikkerhet). He was educated at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in Trondheim, specialising in engineering physics, biophysics and medical technology. Harbitz received his doctorate in physical biochemistry in 1980 and completed the Norwegian Defence University College's main course in 1995.

Throughout his extensive career, Harbitz has held key leadership roles in research, technology, societal safety and nuclear safety. His broad experience from both public administration and research environments will be an important asset for NORSAR's further development.

Camilla Stoltenberg, Board member   

Camilla Stoltenberg is CEO of the independent research institute NORCE and professor in a part-time position at the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Bergen. She has extensive experience in research, management and national preparedness.

Stoltenberg is a trained medical doctor and has a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Oslo. She has studied sociology at the University of Oslo, and social anthropology and medical anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco. She has been a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, as well as a visiting researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health and Columbia University. 

From 2001 to 2023, she held various leadership roles at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), including Director General from 2012 to 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was a key national spokesperson and leader in Norway’s handling of the pandemic. Stoltenberg has led a number of research projects funded by the EU, the Research Council of Norway and the National Institutes of Health in the United States, among others.

She has held a number of national and international roles in research and research strategy, including board positions in the Research Institutes’ Joint Arena (FFA), the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO), Abelia and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI).

Jens G. Mattsson, Board member         

Jens G. Mattsson is Director General of FOI, the Swedish Defence Research Agency. He represents Sweden on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Science and Technology Board and on the European Defence Agency’s Research and Technology Board. Mattsson is also a member of the Swedish Government’s Defence Innovation Council, a board member at Uppsala University, and a member of the Research Council of Norway’s Portfolio Board for Security and Defence Research. 

Previously, he was Director General of the National Veterinary Institute (SVA), CEO of LifeGene at Karolinska Institutet, and held several research and management positions in academia, research institutes and the pharmaceutical industry.

Mattsson has degrees in chemistry and biotechnology from Uppsala University, a PhD in microbiology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), where he was also appointed associate professor in molecular parasitology. He is a member of several prestigious academies of science, including the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

Board of Directors in NORSAR:

Organization

The institute is led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) supported by an administrative staff. Research, innovation, and activities related to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty are divided among four departments. Additionally, the foundation has a subsidiary company, NORSAR Innovation AS, which is co-located with the foundation.

About NORSAR 

NORSAR is an internationally recognised, independent Norwegian research foundation specialising in seismology, seismic monitoring and applied geophysics. Established in 1968 as part of a Norwegian-American effort to develop methods for detecting earthquakes and nuclear explosions, NORSAR today combines world-leading scientific expertise, operational monitoring and advanced software development. Its mission is to listen to the Earth for a safe and resilient society.

Monitoring compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is NORSAR’s most important task. NORSAR serves as Norway’s National Data Centre for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and operates seismic stations on Norwegian territory as part of its national and international monitoring responsibilities.

NORSAR’s core competence is the real-time detection, location and interpretation of natural and human-made seismic events. This expertise is used to monitor earthquakes, nuclear explosions, unstable rock slopes, avalanches and landslides, conflict-related events and sabotage, subsurface carbon dioxide storage, geothermal activity, induced seismicity and other risks affecting people, infrastructure and society.

The foundation also provides research, consultancy and software solutions in seismic modelling, microseismic monitoring, seismic hazard and risk assessment, earthquake engineering and subsurface monitoring for customers and partners in Norway and internationally. NORSAR’s work supports public authorities, research institutions, critical infrastructure owners and industry in making better decisions about safety, preparedness, energy transition and resilience.

Contact:

NORSAR 

Birger Steen

CEO

b@norsar.no

+4790088222