Johannes Falnes (1931–2024) was a

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Experimental Physics Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and o ...

at the Department of Physics of the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, with region ...

noted for his contributions to wave energy research. He was one of the pioneers of modern wave energy research.

Education

Falnes received his master's and doctoral degrees both from the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...

Career

Falnes spent his career at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (1956–1959),

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

(1959–1961), the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

(1961–1964), the

(1965–2001), and

SINTEF SINTEF (, "The Foundation for Industrial and Technical Research"), headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, is an independent research organization founded in 1950 that conducts contract research and development projects. SINTEF has 2000 employees fr ...

(1966–1972), before retiring in 2002. Falnes' main research interest has been ocean wave energy and its utilisation. Together with Kjell Budal, he initiated wave energy research in Norway in the 1970s. Falnes and Budal discovered the so-called antenna effect, where a floating point absorber could theoretically absorb far more wave energy from the sea than that which is directly incident upon its geometry, analogous to a radio antenna's ability to absorb radio waves. They also developed the latching control strategy to maximize energy extraction. In December 2006, a seminar titled Challenges for Wave Energy Technology was dedicated in tribute to Falnes on his 75th anniversary. The seminar was held in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway. Wave energy experts such as

Stephen Salter Professor Stephen Hugh Salter, (7 December 1938 – 23 February 2024) was a South African-born Scottish academic who was Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design at the University of Edinburgh and inventor of the eponymous Salter's duck wav ...

(

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

), António Falcão ( Instituto Superior Técnico), Alain Clément ( École centrale de Nantes), and Richard Yemm ( Ocean Power Delivery) addressed various topics in the seminar. Falnes is a member of The

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

and the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.

Personal life

Among his pastimes are hiking and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

Selected publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Falnes, Johannes 1931 births People associated with CERN Members of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Norwegian Institute of Technology Academic staff of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norwegian physicists Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Academic staff of the University of Bergen