Foto: Eivind Senneset, UiB
Dear all,
Øyvind Halskau resigns as subject group leader for MOL. Øyvind and I have discussed this for some time and it has been a difficult decision for both him and me. Øyvind has done a fantastic job as specialist group leader at MOL ever since MBI and BIO were merged. Øyvind has probably had the most challenging situation among the group leaders; with responsibility for two study programmes, a challenging staffing situation and a constant process of defining MOL’s position and role in the new large department. Øyvind has thus also been the most proactive of the group leaders towards me in obtaining the resources the group has needed. I probably haven’t been able to meet him at all. I understand very well that Øyvind now wants to spend more time on research and teaching, and gain the capacity to seize all the opportunities that exist in research collaboration. Thank you very much Øyvind for your efforts. You have really stood up for MOL and BIO and made a fantastic effort in a demanding situation.
I am very happy that Gyri Teien Haugland is taking over from Øyvind as group leader at MOL. Gyri is currently head of the program board at MOL and knows the teaching very well. Gyri approaches the challenging task with great enthusiasm and optimism. At the same time, Gyri has a strong research activity, where she e.g. now applies for an ERC. Gyri was previously a researcher in fish health and immunology and was hired as an associate professor at MOL in 2019. Quite son after she was promoted to professor. I am very grateful that Gyri is taking on the task and I have great admiration for the fact that she wants to take on this responsibility on behalf of the community, while at the same time she is in a clear process of establishing herself as a strong researcher at an international level. Gyri starts as group leader from February 6th. Thank you very much Gyri.
Many congratulations to Suzette Flantua for a very important and good article in Science about deforestation in the Amazon. See review and link to the article here.
The application deadlines in the NRC are fast approaching. Many thanks to everyone who is currently in the submission phase with their applications. It is very important that we are active here. Success only comes when we try and we depend on this external funding for our research to progress.
I wish you all a nice weekend.
Ørjan