The ghost of Kristian Birkeland
| Dates: | 23 February 2015 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Manchester Institute of Innovation Research |
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| Venue opening hours: | 1-2pm (coffee from 12.30pm) |
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| How much: | free |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
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| Speaker: | Magnus Gulbrandsen |
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University of Oslo physics professor Kristian Birkeland’s helped create Norsk Hydro in 1905, Norway’s most important industrial company in the 20th century. For the university, this was a proud sign of how science contributed directly to innovation and industrial development, and many professors worked with a combination of practical and theoretical problems. But from the 1960s and onwards, the university was perceived as a conservative, inward-looking institution with little interest in innovation and in using its research to benefit society. This negative image has remained to this day – but what happened after the golden age of Birkeland and his contemporaries? In this seminar, a research project on the University of Oslo’s engagement in innovation from 1960 until today will be presented. Magnus Gulbrandsen, professor at the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture at the University of Oslo, will try to draw some general conclusions from this case for our understanding of the role of universities in innovation and societal development.
Speaker
Magnus Gulbrandsen
Role: Professor, Centre for Technology Innovation and Culture
Organisation: University of Oslo, Norway
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
10.05
Harold Hankins Building
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
