The University Board at UiO decided on 5 December 2023 that Professor Irena Hajnsek (nominated by the Department of Geosciences) should be created an honorary doctorate at UiO in 2024.
The creation took place at the University of Oslo's annual party on 2 September, with a solemn ceremony in the University Aula, Domus Media.
About the honorary doctorat Irena Hajnsek
Dr. Irena Hajnsek is Professor of Earth Observation and Remote Sensing at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and heads at the same time the Polarimetric Radar Interferometry research group at the German Aerospace Center.
Her research focus is on electromagnetic propagation and scattering, radar interferometry, and Earth observation. She received her Dipl. degree in 1996 from the Free University of Berlin, Germany and her Dr. degree in 2001 from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany. Irena Hajnsek has given outstanding contributions to science, including the development of innovative algorithms for sensing our environment using radar waves. Radar waves from satellites penetrate through clouds and are – unlike normal satellite cameras – able to give information without sunlight. This technique is therefore crucial for monitoring the Arctic.
Professor Hajnsek is the science coordinator of the German radar satellite constellation TanDEM-X which produced the by far most detailed and accurate global map of Earth’s topography available today.
Irena Hajnsek is since many years actively collaborating with the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo for better monitoring and understanding the massive changes of glaciers and permafrost in the Arctic, the most rapidly warming region on Earth.
Honorary doctoral degrees at UiO
Honorary doctoral degrees of UiO (Doctor Honoris Causa) are given to prominent, often foreign, academics. UiO has been entitled to appoint honorary doctorates since 1824.
The degrees are awarded without a thesis defence/disputation. They are usually appointed every three years at UiO's Annual Celebration in September. The picture below shows honorary doctorates at UiO for 2024 and other award winners at UiO.
Read more about honorary doctoral degreess at University of Oslo
