page_title: Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
section_title: An Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
hierarchical_section_title: Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics / History / An Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
caption_attribution_description: English: Svein Rosseland (March 31, 1894, Kvam, Hardanger – January 19, 1985) was a Norwegian astrophysicist and a pioneer in the field of theoretical astrophysics.
context_page_description: The Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics is a research and teaching institute dedicated to astronomy, astrophysics and solar physics located at Blindern in Oslo, Norway. It is a department of The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo. It was founded in its current form by Svein Rosseland with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1934, and was the first of its kind in the world when it opened. Prior to that, it existed as the University Observatory which was created in 1833. It thus is one of the university's oldest institutions. As of 2019, it houses research groups in cosmology, extragalactic astronomy, and The Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, a Norwegian Centre of Excellence.
context_section_description: The Observatory's final director, professor Svein Rosseland (appointed in 1928) did not consider its future to be promising. In a letter to a colleague, he wrote,
  I expect that the remainder of my life here will be an infinite struggle to raise this tiny observatory without the slightest chance of achieving anything of scientific value.
  — Svein Rosseland (transl.)
  He visited the Harvard College Observatory in 1929, and accepted a professorship there. However, rector Sem Sæland of the University of Oslo saw this as a great loss, as Rosseland already had become an internationally renowned scientist at the time. Sæland coordinated a political effort in which Rosseland was offered to manage an astronomical fund provided by the state, prospects of new university facilities, and was promised a general renovation of the observatory. Rosseland accepted, and returned to Oslo in 1930. He then contacted Niels Bohr in Copenhagen who recently had founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics for inspiration and his level plans. Rosseland concluded that the director should reside at the institute. In his opinion, work did not comply with working hours, and the director should always be available. An architectural competition was announced, and the winning design was sent to the Rockefeller Foundation. His proposal of an institute of theoretical astrophysics did not exist elsewhere in the world at the time. The foundation replied 15 April 1931, granting him 105,000 dollars to erect the institute and 15,000 dollars to obtain scientific equipment.
  The architectural firm of Finn Bryn and Johan Fredrik Ellefsen designed the building for Rosseland at Blindern campus in Oslo. It opened 1 July 1934 and was named Svein Rosselands hus (lit. the house of Svein Rosseland). The building is a striking example of functionalism, unlike the nearby building for physics and chemistry which originally was designed in neoclassical style.  Both scientists and the library was moved from the observatory to the new premises. The two first floors and the basement were purposed for research and teaching, and Rosseland himself resided in the upper three floors. A plaque honoring the Rockefeller Foundation can be found near the entrance.
  In the early days, the institute housed Rosseland himself, his assistant Gunnar Randers, two of the founders of modern meteorology: retired Norwegian dean of science Vilhelm Bjerknes and professor Halvor Solberg, as well as Carl Størmer, a mathematics professor who also studied the northern lights. Rosseland's international recognition led to visits from prominent scientists such as Martin Schwarzschild.
caption: Svein Rosseland, about 1935
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