Biography
Olav Kjeldseth-Moe is emeritus professor of astrophysics at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo. He is married to Else Wiestad, Ph.D. and Professor of Philosophy, University of Oslo.
Kjeldseth-Moe was born in 1940 in a small industrial community on the west coast of Norway. Since 1970 he has been involved in studying the Sun using space instruments. Educated in Oslo, he spent 6 years at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).
At NRL Kjeldseth-Moe worked on calibrating NRL's spectrometer SO82B for Skylab. He took part in the operation of Skylab in 1973-74 as a science planner for NRL at JSC in Houston. Later he analyzed and interpreted Skylab observations in terms of physical conditions in the solar atmosphere. Returning to Oslo in 1977 he kept his contacts with NRL as a coinvestigator on the High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) from its first flight in 1975. From 1986 to 2006 he was leading the Norwegian participation in the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) on ESA's and NASA's SOHO satellite. The Norwegian contribution to CDS was the Quick Look Software and Electrical Ground Support Equipment.
The scientific interests of Professor Kjeldseth-Moe and his collaborators in Oslo have particularly covered dynamics and time variability of the solar corona. These were new aspects of the solar atmosphere, which were first revealed by SOHO. Presently his interest has shifted to the study of the Sun’s influence on Earth’s temperature.
Employment history
- 01.02.64–28.02.67: Observing assistant, Harestua Observatory, UiO
- 01.03.67–31.09.68: Research assistant, NAVF
- 01.10.68–31.09.69: Assistant professor, UiO
- 01.10.69–01.10.74: Junior research associate, UiO
- 01.10.69–31.09.71: Physicist GS 12, NRL, Washington, DC
- 22.05.73–22.05.77: Physicist GS 13, NRL, Washington, DC
- 23.05.77–29.07.77: Special consultant, NRL, Washington, DC
- 01.07.78–31.07.78: Special consultant, NRL, Washington, DC
- 01.08.77–31.12.88: Research fellow, NAVF/UiO
- 01.01.89–31.12.92: Associate professor, UiO
- 01.01.93–30.09.10: Professor, UiO
- 01.10.10–Present: Emeritus professor, UiO
Honoraria and grants
- Norsk varekrigsforsikringsfond, 1969
- H H Mashmanns legat, 1983
Appointments and memberships
- International Astronomical Union (IAU) – since 1975
- American Astronomical Society (AAS)
- European Physical Society
- European Astronomical Society (founding member)
- Associate of COSPAR (since 1978)
- European Geophysical Society (EGS)
- Norsk fysisk selskap (Norwegian Physical Society)
- Norsk astronautisk selskap (Norwegian Astronautical Society)
- ESA's Solar System Working Group (SSWG) 1992–1995
- ESA's Solar Physics Planning Group (SPPG) 1998–2000
Cooperation
- Co-Investigator on NRL's HRTS instrument since 1975
- Co-Investigator on CDS – Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer on SOHO
- Associated scientist on SUMER – Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation on SOHO
- Associated with the IBIS imager on ESA's INTEGRAL mission