Jul Låg (13 November 1915 - 2 February 2000) was a Norwegian scientist and

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

researcher.

Biography

He was born in

Flesberg Flesberg is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland. The economy of F ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Har ...

, Norway. He grew up on the farm in Flesberg. After elementary school he was a farm laborer for several years. He took the dr.agric. degree in 1949. He also studied geology at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...

(1942–43). He studied under graduate fellowships and scholarships from (1942–45). He examined and described the rare Norwegian soil types, including rendzina-like soil. Låg has examined the supply of plant nutrients in precipitation in Norway. He hired scientists in the field both at home and abroad, organized annual symposia where he gave several speeches, and he edited the books where the various contributions were published. An area of research, which he started just before he retired, was the impact of soil and rock properties on human and animal health. Jul Låg was a professor at the

Norwegian College of Agriculture The Norwegian University of Life Sciences ( no, Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located at Ås in Viken, near Oslo, and at Adamstuen in Oslo and has around 5,200 stud ...

from 1949 to 1985. He served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

there from 1968 to 1971. He was the of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Unive ...

from 1976 to 1984. He was a member and chairman of several public councils, boards, committees, both Norwegian and international, including Chairman of the Board of the Nordic Association of Agriculture Researchers 1957-59 and 1972–79, the Inter-Nordic Committee for Geomedisinsk Research 1978–1984, the Agricultural Scientific Research 1972-1973 and The Research Councils in 1972–73. Jul Låg was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science from 1953 and alternately the President of the Academy from 1976 to 1984. He was made a member of the Royal Norwegian Scientific Society in 1984, The Royal Danish Scientific Ernes Society from 1982 and a number of other foreign societies. Låg was appointed a Knight of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (1984), he was Commander of the Icelandic

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. ...

(1970) and received the Copernicus Medal from the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

(1974).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lag, Jul 1915 births 2000 deaths People from Flesberg Norwegian soil scientists Academic staff of the Norwegian College of Agriculture Rectors of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Recipients of the Order of the Falcon 20th-century Norwegian scientists 20th-century Norwegian educators