University of Bergen : General information

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences 

Dean: Dag L. Aksnes
Director of Faculty: Kjell Arnstein Sælen

Address: Harald Hårfagres gt. 1
5020 Bergen, Norway
Tel: +47 55 58 20 62
Fax: +47 55 31 78 75
E-mail: post@mnfa.uib.no
Homepage: http://www.uib.no/mnfa/

A Marine Faculty

The marine environment is a central topic of interest for the natural sciences at the University of Bergen. Aquaculture is one of the Faculty's core areas of competence, and UoB has become a stronghold in petroleum research. The Faculty has also concentrated its efforts on more technological and mathematically oriented disciplines.  The University's predecessor, Bergen Museum, was closely linked to such great scientists as Wilhelm Bjerknes, the founder of modern meteorology. Bergen Museum's scientific profile was oriented towards the biological and earth sciences, and these created the foundations of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences when it became the first scientific unit of the University of Bergen in 1946.  Ever since, the Faculty has profiled its activities in such a way as to take advantage of its geographical position. Natural phenomena and industrial activity on the coast and at sea are central factors in the research plans of most departments. Bergen's marine biology research groups are internationally recognised for the quality of their facilities, while petroleum development activity in the North Sea has involved scientists from areas such as geology and seismics.

Geologists on the historic banks of the Pechora
The Pechora is a thousand kilometre-long river that runs into the Barents Sea. An interdisciplinary research project is studying the region of Northern Russia through which the river runs. The project is a collaborative effort involving the University of Bergen and scientists in St. Petersburg.

The Pechora Project will reconstruct changes in glacial cover, vegetation and climate in the Barents region during the past 150 000 years. It will offer scientists insight into the mechanisms of control of long-term climatic change and how these affect plants and animals. The University of Bergen's archaeologists are also involved in the Pechora project.

Marine biological base for Europe
Bergen's marine biologists have major research resources at their disposal. The EU has given the University of Bergen and the Marine Research Institute the status of a European research centre in marine biology.

"Large-Scale Facility" status  in the EU's research programmes enables European scientists to use the University of Bergen's marine biology research facilities, and thus also to benefit from scientific guidance from Bergen's marine biologists. Financial benefits are also involved, as the EU contributes some NOK 6 million to the centre.

The Bergen area offers European scientists facilities ranging from advanced seawater laboratories in the High-Technology Centre, via the Marine Research Institute's aquaculture station in Austevoll and the field stations at Espegrend and Øygarden, to the use of research vessels in lagoons and fjords that have already been thoroughly studied by Norwegian scientists.