Jul Låg (13 November 1915 - 2 February 2000) was a Norwegian scientist and

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

researcher.

Biography

He was born in

Flesberg Flesberg is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland. ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

, Norway. He grew up on the farm in Flesberg. After elementary school he was a farm laborer for several years. He took the dr.agric. degree in 1949. He also studied geology at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

(1942–43). He studied under graduate fellowships and scholarships from (1942–45). He examined and described the rare Norwegian soil types, including

rendzina Rendzina (or ''rendsina'') is a soil type recognized in various soil classification systems, including those of Britain and Germany as well as some obsolete systems. They are humus-rich shallow soils that are usually formed from carbonate- or occ ...

-like soil. Låg has examined the supply of plant nutrients in precipitation in Norway. He hired scientists in the field both at home and abroad, organized annual symposia where he gave several speeches, and he edited the books where the various contributions were published. An area of research, which he started just before he retired, was the impact of soil and rock properties on human and animal health. Jul Låg was a professor at the

Norwegian College of Agriculture The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 1859 as the Higher Agricultural Coll ...

from 1949 to 1985. He served as rector there from 1968 to 1971. He was the of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

from 1976 to 1984. He was a member and chairman of several public councils, boards, committees, both Norwegian and international, including Chairman of the Board of the Nordic Association of Agriculture Researchers 1957-59 and 1972–79, the Inter-Nordic Committee for Geomedisinsk Research 1978–1984, the Agricultural Scientific Research 1972-1973 and The Research Councils in 1972–73. Jul Låg was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science from 1953 and alternately the President of the Academy from 1976 to 1984. He was made a member of the Royal Norwegian Scientific Society in 1984, The Royal Danish Scientific Ernes Society from 1982 and a number of other foreign societies. Låg was appointed a Knight of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (1984), he was Commander of the Icelandic

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(1970) and received the Copernicus Medal from the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

(1974).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lag, Jul 1915 births 2000 deaths People from Flesberg Norwegian soil scientists Academic staff of the Norwegian College of Agriculture Rectors of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Recipients of the Order of the Falcon 20th-century Norwegian scientists 20th-century Norwegian educators