Kai Gudbrand Grjotheim (13 July 1919 – 17 April 2003) was a Norwegian chemist. He was born in

Åsnes Åsnes is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Flisa, which is also the largest village in the municipality with around 1 ...

as a son of school manager Erland Gudbrandson Grjotheim (1887–1969) and domestic science teacher Kaya Johanne Haarbye (1882–1963). He was married to Jorunn Synnøve Andersen since 1944. He

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education at

Hamar Cathedral School Hamar katedralskole ( en, Hamar Cathedral School) is an upper secondary school in Hamar, Norway. History Founded in 1153 as Schola cathedralis hamarensis, it is the second oldest school in Norway together with Bergen katedralskole and Oslo katedr ...

in 1940, graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology with the siv.ing. degree in 1950. He was a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

from 1952 to 1955 and docent from 1955 to 1956 and 1957 to 1959. In 1956 he took the dr.techn. degree on the thesis ''Contribution to the Theory of the Aluminum Electrolysis'', and from 1956 to 1957 he did research at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. His fields were inorganic chemistry,

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...

, metallurgy and production of

light metal A light metal is any metal of relatively low density. More specific definitions have been proposed; none have obtained widespread acceptance. Magnesium, aluminium and titanium are light metals of significant commercial importance. Their densities ...

s. He is especially known for solving problems within

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of th ...

of salt smelters and the aluminum electrolysis. He was a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1959 to 1961 and 1969 to 1972, at the Technical College of Denmark from 1961 to 1969 and 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 universit ...

from 1972 to 1989. He had an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

at the

Shenyang University of Technology Shenyang University of Technology (; SUT) is a university in Shenyang, Liaoning, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, m ...

from 1980, was a guest scholar in several countries and was awarded several medals. He had a widespread cooperation with foreign scholars and penned over 300 academic articles. He was a fellow of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The ...

since 1961, 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 Ac ...

since 1962, 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 ...

since 1968 and the German Academy in Berlin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grjotheim, Kai 1919 births 2003 deaths People from Åsnes Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology Academic staff of the Technical University of Denmark Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian physical chemists Norwegian metallurgists Norwegian expatriates in Canada Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences