This text has been translated from Norwegian with the assistance of GPT UiO.
– This is a very welcome recognition, and it is especially pleasing to see several excellent colleagues from the SV Faculty and the University of Oslo on the list of new members, says Lars Tjelta Westlye.
He is looking forward to taking on the role, which lasts until a member reaches the age of 70.
– Together with existing and new members, I look forward to contributing to the Academy’s important objective of promoting long-term, fundamental research.
Most new members from the SV Faculty
Lyngstad and O’Brien are Professor and Professor Emerita from the Department of Sociology and Human Geography (ISS), while Westlye is Vice-Dean for Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences (SV).
New members of the Academy are elected by the current members, and the selection is based on scientific merit. There are both Norwegian and international members – 929 in total as of 1 January 2026.
The members are divided into two classes: the Mathematical and Natural Sciences class, and the Humanities and Social Sciences class.
In the latter, three of the ten new members are from the SV Faculty, which this year has the highest number of new members from a single faculty in Norway.
Influential positions
Dean Anne Julie Semb greatly appreciates that the SV Faculty is well represented in the Academy.
– Congratulations to those who have now been elected as new members. These are prestigious positions, and it is very gratifying when some of the faculty’s excellent researchers are honoured in this way, she says.
The Academy is an independent organisation that works to promote science and basic research.
Promoting basic research
Vice-Dean for Research Lars Tjelta Westlye knows how important this work is.
– The Academy has a clear mandate to highlight curiosity-driven basic research and to strengthen the role and significance of science in society. These ambitions have scarcely ever been more relevant than they are today, and they are fully in line with our values at the University of Oslo and the SV Faculty.
– It is long-term, independent research that lays the foundation for the most important results and the most far-reaching societal changes in the long run, he concludes.