Sørum thus becomes leader of one of SINTEF’s eight research institutes and a member of SINTEF’s Group Management.
Sørum is currently a Research Director at SINTEF Energy Research. He has been employed at SINTEF since 1992.
Lars Sørum received his qualifications as a civil engineer from the then Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in 1991, and has a high level of technical expertise in the energy field. He took his doctorate in 2000, and was appointed Chief Research Scientist in 2009.
Sørum has held many management positions at SINTEF Energy Research, including Research Manager, Senior Research Scientist, and Research Director. He has also headed several research efforts, and has acted as coordinator for major international projects funded by the EU.
During the period 2006-2010 Sørum acted as coordinator for the EU-funded project Next GenBioWaste (www.nextgenbiowaste.com), which involved 17 partners drawn from seven countries. This is the largest EU project for which SINTEF has had responsibility as coordinator.
Sørum is currently coordinator for CenBio (www.cenbio.no), which is a Norwegian research centre for environmentally-friendly energy research (CEER). The centre involves 26 Norwegian and international partners drawn from the bioenergy sector.
“Lars Sørum has been appointed from among several excellent internal and external applicants”, says Unni Steinsmo, Board Chair at SINTEF Petroleum Research. “The Board has placed special emphasis on his leadership qualities and his ability to work strategically in a long-term perspective to achieve highly ambitious targets together with competent colleagues”, she says.
“My motivation for accepting this management challenge is above all so that I can make a difference”, says Sørum. “I take inspiration from being able to make a contribution towards the development of more efficient and environmentally-friendly technologies linked to some of the major challenges facing the global community today.
"I look on SINTEF Petroleum Research as a vital institute lying at the heart of Norwegian wealth creation. We have unique opportunities at SINTEF to make a contribution towards the development of solutions for Norwegian and international interests”, he says.
Lars Sørum is 46, and is married with three children. He will take up his appointment on 1 May 2012.
