The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was merged into the

University of Trondheim A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

as an independent college. In 1996 NTH ceased to exist as an organizational superstructure when the university was restructured and rebranded. The former NTH departments are now basic building blocks of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). NTH was primarily a polytechnic institute, educating master level

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

s as well as

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s. In 1992 NTH had 7627 master and doctoral students and 1591 employees; it graduated 1262 chartered engineers (master level), 52 chartered architects, and 92 Dr.Ing. (PhD). The operating budget was equivalent to US$100 M, and the total premises amounted to around 260,000 m² (64 acres). Since the merger, it forms a part of the university campus commonly known as

Gløshaugen Gløshaugen is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Lerkendal, approximately southeast of Midtbyen, the downtown center of Trondheim. It is situated east of the neighborhood of E ...

, from the geographical area in which it is situated.

History

Seal of the Norwegian Institute of Technology

The decision to establish a Norwegian national college of technology was made by the Norwegian parliament, the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years ...

, in 1900, after years of heated debate on where the institution should be located; many representatives felt that the capital

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population o ...

(now Oslo) was self-evident as the place for this nationally important seat of learning. However, eventually ''Den Tekniske Høgskole'' was located in the geographically central city of

, based on an emerging policy of decentralisation as well as the city's existing and highly esteemed technical college, ''Trondhjems Tekniske Læreanstalt''. Hovedbygningen, the building of Norges tekniske høgskole was designed by architect

Bredo Greve Adolf Bredo Stabell Greve (28 June 1871 – 30 March 1931) was a Norwegian architect. Biography Greve was born at Hamar in Hedmark, Norway. He was a son of Mathias Sigwardt Greve (1832–1912) and Blanca Olivia Juell (1836–1918). He was a brot ...

. It was built of granite block construction in the National Romantic style of architecture. Five academical departments were originally present in the parliament's resolution of 31 May 1900: *

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

and city planning *

Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

(a. General and b. Naval, i.e. ship and ship engine construction) *

Electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

(a. General and b. Electro-chemistry)

Academic faculties

The academic structure of NTH during the last years before its inclusion in NTNU was as follows: *Faculty of Architecture, with 5 Departments: **Form and Colour Studies **Building Technology **Architectural History **Arch. Design **Town and Regional Planning *Faculty of Applied Earth Science and Metallurgy, with 3 Departments: **Metallurgy **Geology and Mineral Resources **Petroleum Technology and Applied Geophysics (see also Department of Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics) *Faculty of Civil Engineering, with 8 Departments: **Building and Construction Engineering **Geotechnical Engineering **Road and Railway Engineering **Transportation Engineering **Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering **Building Materials **Structural Engineering **Geodesy and Photogrammetry *Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, with 5 Departments: **Electrical Power Engineering **Telecommunications **Engineering Cybernetics **Physical Electronics **Computer Systems and Telematics *Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, with 7 Departments: **Inorganic Chemistry **Organic Chemistry **Physical Chemistry **Chemical Engineering **Industrial Chemistry **Industrial Biochemistry **Biotechnology *Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, with 6 Departments: **Thermal Energy and Hydropower **Machine Design and Materials Technology **Production and Quality Engineering **Applied Mechanics, Thermo- and Fluid Dynamics **Heating and Ventilation **Refrigeration Engineering *Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, with two Departments: **Mathematics Sciences **Physics *Faculty of Marine Technology, with 4 Departments: **Marine Systems Design **Marine Structures **Marine Hydrodynamics **Marine Engineering *Faculty of Economics and Industrial Management, with two Departments: **Economics **Organisation and Work Science (Norwegian abbreviation: ORAL) *Center for Management Education (Norw. abbrev.: ULA) *Technical University Library of Norway (Norw. abbrev.: NTUB) **The national resource library of technology and architecture **Locations: Technical Main Library as well as six Faculty Libraries on campus

Notable alumni

* Jens G. Balchen, electronics engr., professor, "father of Norwegian cybernetics",

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operati ...

fellow * Alf Egil Bogen, electronics engr., co-inventor of Atmel AVR µcontroller, co-founder of Atmel Norway *

Helmer Dahl Helmer Hartmann Dahl (17 June 1908 – 29 March 1999) was a Norwegian electrical engineer and director of research at the Chr. Michelsen Institute. Biography Dahl was born at Sarpsborg in Østfold, Norway. He was the son of Karl Theodor Dahl (18 ...

, electronics engr., World War II radar and ASDIC pioneer, research and industry mentor, technology historian * Johannes Falnes, wave energy researcher * Ivar Asbjørn Følling - chemical engr., discovery of

Phenylketonuria Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may als ...

, Jahreprisen 1960 *

Ivar Giaever Ivar Giaever ( no, Giæver, ; born April 5, 1929) is a Norwegian-American engineer and physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Leo Esaki and Brian Josephson "for their discoveries regarding tunnelling phenomena in solids". G ...

, mechanical engr., physicist, 1973 Nobel laureate * Bjarne Hurlen, mechanical engr., army officer, defence industry executive (

Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk Kongsberg Gruppen is an international technology group headquartered in Norway, that supplies high-technology systems to customers in the merchant marine, defence, aerospace, offshore oil and gas industries, and renewable and utilities industri ...

1956–1975) * Ralph Høibakk, physicist, computer industry executive, mountaineer, adventurer (

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Climbing the Seven Summits ...

; South Pole) *

Fred Kavli Fred Kavli (August 20, 1927 – November 21, 2013) was a Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist. He was born on a small farm in Eresfjord, Norway. He founded the Kavlico Corporation, located in Moorpark, California. Under his l ...

, physicist, innovator, business leader (sensor technology: Kavlico Corp.), and philanthropist *

Paal Kibsgaard Paal Kibsgaard (born April 1967) is a Norwegian petroleum engineer and businessman; the former chairman and CEO of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company. Early life He was born in Ålesund, Norway in April 1967. Education ...

, petroleum engineer, chairman and CEO of Schlumberger * Arne Korsmo - architect, professor,

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design ( no, Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) was established in 1818. In 1996 the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the A ...

* Olav Landsverk, electronics engr., military weapon systems computer pioneer, professor * John M. Lervik, electronics engr., co-founder and CEO of cXense, co-founder and former CEO of Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) *

Finn Lied Finn Lied (12 April 1916 – 10 October 2014) was a Norwegian military researcher and politician for the Labour Party. He was particularly known for work on the establishment of the Norwegian state oil company Statoil. His effort to ensure that a ...

, electronics engr., World War II resistance agent, defence research director, Minister of Industry * Terje Michalsen, electronics engr., venture capitalist *

Lars Monrad Krohn Lars Monrad-Krohn (born July 14, 1933) is a Norwegian engineer and entrepreneur. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology, Institute for Radio Technology, (NTH, Institutt for Radioteknikk) in 1959. His master thesis addressed const ...

, electronics engr., industrialist (mini- and microcomputers) * Ingvild Myhre, electronics engr., telecom industry executive (Alcatel Telecom Norway, Telenor Mobil) * Lars Onsager, chemical engr., 1968 Nobel laureate * Venketa Parthasarathy, chemical engr., noted for work on

wood pulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw ...

and two-stage oxygen delignification * Erik Rolfsen, architect and city planner for

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

* Edgar B. Schieldrop, mechanical engr., student society co-founder, popular science & technology author * Rolf Skår, cybernetics engr., industrialist (minicomputers), Norwegian Space Centre director * Einar Aasen Skogsholm, PhD Electrical Engr., VP of MECO * Øystein Stray Spetalen, petroleum engr., Norwegian investor * Berit Svendsen, telecom. engr., MTM, CTO of Telenor 2000–. *

Anders Talleraas Anders Talleraas (born 4 February 1946 in Brattvær) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal in 1977, and was re-elected on four occasions. Talleraas was a member ...

, mechanical engr., MP for 20 years, former Conservative party parliamentary leader *

Vebjørn Tandberg Vebjørn Tandberg (16 September 1904 – 30 August 1978) was a Norwegian electronics engineer. Tandberg was born at Bodø in Nordland, Norway. He attended the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim (1930). He founded '' Tandbergs ...

, electronics engr., industrialist (radio, tape recording, television) * Theodore Theodorsen, Norwegian-American aerodynamicist * Leif Tronstad,

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, chemist, nuclear chemistry scientist, planner and organiser of World War II's '' Operation Gunnerside'' * Tor Olav Trøim, marine engr., shipping and energy industry executive (Frontline, Seadrill) * John Ugelstad, chemical engr., known for his pioneering work on monodisperse polymer beads * Tore M. Undeland, electrical engr., professor, international textbook author (Wiley),

fellow * Gjert Wilhelmsen, marine engr., co-founder of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines *

Bror With Bror With (19 June 1900 – 9 December 1985) was a Norwegian mechanical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Bror With is perhaps most associated with his invention of the '' Rottefella'' ("Rat Trap") ski binding, which he developed in 1927. ...

, mechanical engr., inventor of the ''

Rottefella Rottefella is a Norwegian manufacturing company of winter sports equipment, more specifically ski bindings. The name "Rottefella" refers to the three-pin binding invented by Bror With in 1927, inspired on a couple of rat traps he had seen in a h ...

'' ski binding and Dromedille dinghy; World War II resistance agent * Vegard Wollan, electronics engr., co-inventor of Atmel AVR µcontroller, co-founder of Atmel Norway

Commercial impact

The following companies, or divisions of international companies, have been created directly or partly from NTH research and influence, including its contract research arm

SINTEF SINTEF ( no, Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning), headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, is an independent research organization founded in 1950 that conducts contract research and development projects. SINTEF has 2000 employees from 7 ...

with spin-offs: *3d-Radar AS (advanced ground penetrating radar technology for shallow subsurface mapping in 3D

* Atmel AVR, Atmel Norway (inventors and designers of the Atmel AVR RISC microcontroller family, incl HW/SW tools)

*Ceetron AS (3D visualization and technical computing for oil & gas, plus aerospace, automotive, and consumer electronics

* Cybernetica (Norwegian company) advanced process control, specializing in nonlinear model predictive control * CorrOcean (industrial/off-shore Corrosion Monitoring

*ErgoRunit AS ( outsourcing services in IT system planning/

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

and accounting

(N) * Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) (inter/intranet search engines; developers of alltheweb.com

*GE Vingmed Ultrasound, formerly Vingmed Sound (

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies ...

-based imaging in medical diagnosis and surgery support systems

(N) *Marine Cybernetics, specialising in the testing and verification of ship and offshore structure control system

(N) *MARINTEK, The Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute,A majority share is owned by the SINTEF, SINTEF Group including MARINTEK (USA), Inc

* Nordic Semiconductor, Nordic Semiconductor ASA ( ASIC design, SoCs, RF/mixed-signal hybrid IC's

*Oceanor (oceanographic measurements and real-time environmental monitoring in oceans, freshwater, and soil

*Powel ASA (IT products/services for energy production companies

*Q-Free ASA; formerly Micro Design AS (radio systems for tolling, traffic information, parking, ticketing, access control, logistics

*Schlumberger Information Solutions Trondheim, formerly VoxelVision AS (3D visualization, mostly for oil & gas applications

*SINTEF, The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research at NTH (contract research corp, 1700 employees

*SINTEF Energy Research, SINTEF Petroleum Research, and SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture ² *Sinvent Ltd., SINTEFs development and investment company *Sun Microsystems Trondheim; formerly ClustRa Systems (high-availability, real-time

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases ...

technology

*Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS; acquired Systems in Motion AS (3D visualization software

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwegian Institute of Technology Defunct universities and colleges in Norway Technical universities and colleges Buildings and structures in Trondheim Education in Trondheim Educational institutions established in 1910 * 1910 establishments in Norway National Romantic architecture in Norway Art Nouveau educational buildings