Gunnar Randers (21 April 1914 – 7 February 1992) was a

Norwegian 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 ...

physicist. He is known as the principal figure within Norwegian nuclear research after World War II. He was employed at the

Mount Wilson Observatory The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. The observat ...

from 1939 to 1940, and at the

Yerkes Observatory Yerkes Observatory ( ) is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The observatory was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2018. Owner ...

from 1940 to 1941. From 1942 to 1945 he was a part of the Technical Committee of the

Norwegian High Command The Norwegian High Command ( no, Forsvarets Overkommando, FO) was Norway's top military leadership from 1970 to 2003. It was established in Northern Norway in 1940 by General Otto Ruge. It was then re-established by the Norwegian Government-in-exile ...

, together with scientists such as Svein Rosseland,

Leif Tronstad Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE (27 March 1903 – 11 March 1945) was a Norwegian inorganic chemist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific research ...

and Helmer Dahl. The Technical Committee is considered as the precursor to the

Norwegian Defence Research Establishment The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (''Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt'' – ''FFI'') is a research institute that conducts research and development on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces and provides expert advice to political and mi ...

, established in 1946. Randers worked a few years at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, but in 1948 he was hired at the newly established

Institute for Energy Technology Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) was established in 1948 as the Institute for Nuclear Energy (IFA). The name was changed in 1980. Its main office is at Kjeller, Norway, and slightly under half of the institute’s activities are based in Ha ...

. Together with Odd Dahl he was a leading force in building the

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

there. From 1968 to 1973 he was the assisting secretary general of research in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. From 1975 to 1980 he was the CEO of the company Scandpower. In 1981, Randers became a founding member of the

World Cultural Council The World Cultural Council is an international organization whose goals are to promote cultural values, goodwill and philanthropy among individuals. The organization founded in 1981 and based in Mexico, has held a yearly award ceremony since 198 ...

. He was the father of

Jørgen Randers Jørgen Randers (born 22 May 1945) is a Norwegian academic, professor emeritus of climate strategy at the BI Norwegian Business School, and practitioner in the field of future studies.

and halfbrother of

Arne Randers Heen Arne Randers Heen (4 April 1905 – 7 February 1991) was a Norwegian mountain climber and member of the Norwegian resistance during World War II. Personal life Heen was born in Hen, Møre og Romsdal, and worked as a tailor in nearby Åndalsne ...

References

1914 births 1992 deaths Founding members of the World Cultural Council Norwegian physicists Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{Norway-academic-bio-stub