Torstein Jøssang's Homepage

Professor of Physics

Department of Physics, University of Oslo,
PO Box 1048 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway

Torstein Jøssang received his BS (Cand. Mag.) degree in physics and mathematics in 1959 and his MS (Cand. Real.) degree in physics in 1962 both from the University of Oslo (UiO). He obtained his PhD (Dr. Philos) in 1968 also from UiO after defending his thesis on "Dislocations and Dissociated Dislocation Configurations in Face Centered Cubic Metals".

He was a research associate at UiO in the period 1960--63. He received fellowships to work in Professor Hirth's group at the Ohio State University for two years from 1963--65. From there he returned to UiO as an assistant professor (1965--68), associate professor (1968--87) and chair professor from 1987. From 1993--1999 he also served as Director for the Center of Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo.

Torstein Jøssang shared with Professor Jens Feder the Norwegian Research Council's prize for exceptional research in 1990, and the Fridtjof Nansen prize from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 1990. Later followed the University of Oslo's prize for excellent teaching in 1991, and the Norwegian IBM physics prize in 1992.

He has worked theoretically, experimentally, and by computational modeling in materials science and statistical physics; first with elasticity theory and structural defects (59--70), then experiments: on crystal growth and light scattering (1970--82) to study critical phenomena including phase transitions and protein aggregation and adsorption (1978--85). His research interests after 1985 have been in the areas of stick-slip phenomena (fracturing and friction), fractal irreversible growth processes, and pattern formation.