Jon Samseth, born July 23, 1954 in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, is a Norwegian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and professor of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. He was awarded an engineering degree in physics ( siv.ing.) from the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

(NTH) (now

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

, NTNU) in 1981. He later earned a

Diplôme d'ingénieur The Diplôme d'Ingénieur (, often abbreviated as ''Dipl. Ing.'') is a postgraduate degree in engineering ''(see Engineer's Degrees in Europe)'' usually awarded by the Grandes Écoles in engineering. It is generally obtained after five to seven ye ...

degree in Petroleum economics from the École Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs ( ENSPM) in France in 1983. He received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in physics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

) in 1988. Samseth is a professor of energy physics at the

Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Metropolitan University (Oslomet; no, Oslomet – storbyuniversitetet)"Skrivemåten av universitetsnamnet Oslomet – storbyuniversitetet," Language Council of Norway, 17/677-4/DGI, 18 January 2018 is a state university in Oslo and Akersh ...

as well as a scientific advisor to SINTEF industry. In addition, he served as an adjunct professor (professor II) in the Department of Chemical engineering at NTNU from 2007 to 2015. Samseth has focused his research broadly in the field of soft matter. Within this field, he has used

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...

scattering to study a variety of

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...

-containing systems, including

micelle A micelle () or micella () (plural micelles or micellae, respectively) is an aggregate (or supramolecular assembly) of surfactant amphipathic lipid molecules dispersed in a liquid, forming a colloidal suspension (also known as associated collo ...

s and

microemulsion Microemulsions are clear, thermodynamically stable isotropic liquid mixtures of oil, water and surfactant, frequently in combination with a cosurfactant. The aqueous phase may contain salt(s) and/or other ingredients, and the "oil" may actually be ...

aerogel Aerogels are a class of synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component for the gel has been replaced with a gas, without significant collapse of the gel structure. The result is a solid with extremely low ...

s and block-copolymers. Since 2004 he has been engaged in the study of nanostructured

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. B ...

s applied to

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

separation. Samseth has been actively involved internationally through the

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP ) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the ...

(

IUPAP The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP ) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the ...

). He was member of IUPAP’s first energy working group in which they assessed viability of various energy sources. In 2012, IUPAP commissioned him to chair and form a new working group devoted to energy topics at large. He was also a member of the

Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment The Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) was established by the 10th meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 1969. SCOPE's members include 38 national science academies and resear ...

's (

SCOPE Scope or scopes may refer to: People with the surname * Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer * John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution Arts, media, and entertainment * Cinem ...

) biofuels rapid assessment group and has been the president of SCOPE since 2014. From 2010 to 2013 he has been a scientific advisor to the yearbook team of

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

) and participated as a member of the writing team. In the 2012 yearbook, he was responsible for the chapter on the decommissioning of nuclear reactors. Currently, Samseth is actively involved in the public debate on energy issues, most notably those related to

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

, and gives public lectures on these topics as well. He raises ethical and environmental concerns connected to energy issues and advocates that nuclear energy is an integral part of a modern energy system. Because of his experience in energy topics, he is frequently featured in the media, particularly when nuclear energy concerns the public (such as during the

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

accident in Japan.) In 2012 professor Samseth was elected member of the

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences ( no, Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi, NTVA) is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway. Founded in 1955, the academy has about 500 members. It is a member of the International Council of Aca ...

(NTVA).

References

External links

Samseth in the media
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samseth, Jon Norwegian physicists MIT Department of Physics alumni Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences Oslo and Akershus University College 1954 births People from Trondheim Living people