He suggests setting up an academy a little further away

– Self-recruiting dwellings were created several hundred years ago. This is a somewhat unscientific way to do it.

Gaute T. Einevoll stands on the stage and looks kindly at the audience. It is a public holiday at the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences (DKNVS), and he has been invited to give a lecture on the criticism he has made of the Academies of Science.

There are great inconsistencies on Friday evening. It’s windy outside the Archbishop’s Palace in Trondheim. Steep-forward academics brave the blizzard and scurry to Øysteinsalen – in one of the newest wards after the 1983 fire.

Once inside, women and men reveal themselves at their best. Now they will listen to Aenevol’s lecture on “The Organization, Roles and Opportunities of Academies of Science” before an aperitif and a celebratory dinner.

Nobody defends us

The background is an interview and supports In last fall’s Chrono, where the professor criticized the current system of self-enlistment for being outdated with too much “meeting and friendship.” He claimed that the fact that the academies had space for a small percentage of researchers meant that they were not very effective in the job they had set for themselves, i.e. promoting science in Norway.

He himself is a member of two Norwegian academies: DKNVS and Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi (NTVA).

We might immediately think that Einevoll ended up in the lion’s den on This Wife’s Evening, but that’s not the case. Before the start of the session, the members come to him and are proud that he has started an interesting discussion, and that the audience listens to him cordially and interestedly during the lecture.

– It was science that saved us during the pandemic. Then the scientists were at the top of the scene and they were the ones who saved the world. Gunvor Grødeland and Anne Spurkland were champions in 2020 and 2021. Everything looked bright. What we needed, Ainivoll said, was more science.

Then the epidemic ended.

– 2022 has been, in many ways, a terrible year, as a government has, in word and deed, deprioritized research and ignored research. It was serious and a lot of people fought hard in the media, but what struck me was this: There was no one standing up for us. It was terrifying.

It will open up and let more people in

Thus, Ainefull’s conclusion is that the research community is not doing its job well enough and must mobilize. The researchers are passionate about their topic and are a great resource for reaching out to the wider community about the research and its importance.

Einevoll referred to the purpose clause of the DKNVS, stating that the academy’s goal is to promote and disseminate science.

The Academies of Sciences do not have many members, perhaps only one percent of all researchers. Typical for us is that we are old and long CVs should be invited. This means that not many people under the age of 50 are recruited. How do we mobilize the youth? Maybe we should open up, let in more people, maybe especially those who want to communicate?

In addition, he suggested that DKNVS can set up different departments with researchers, students and laypeople. The latter can come and support researchers in the social debate, even if they are not researchers.

– A member-based organization has an entirely different kind of legitimacy than a seal-appointed lodge. Most organizations today are membership based. More members will provide more resources and more researchers will be incentivized to contribute.

Furthermore, Ainefol referred to the Ministry of Education. If he had been there and seen how the academies deal with the regulation of lockdown and accommodation, he would have said: Are we getting enough of the money they receive?

Create an exploding academy

Gaute T. Einevoll Professor of Physics and Member of the American Physical Society. He emphasized the way in which these organizations operate. They count on the members, advise the government, make a lot of contacts, give awards and do everything the academies do, and much more.

He then suggested that DKNVS set up a committee to investigate organizational forms and roles in order to best achieve the corporate purpose.

– That was cool. If we are looking forward to the middle of the 19th century, Trondheim was the center of science. Now NTNU is the largest university in Norway. If we could create an academy that melted a little bit, that would be a lot more fun.

Then an appetizing and festive dinner awaits the guests. So he asked Chrono Anyfall and Chief May Thorsyth some questions in advance.

It’s nice that I was invited to give this lecture. This shows that DKNVS is open to new ideas related to the organization of the academies, Ainivoll said.

Apart from the response from DKNVS, he is disappointed with the feedback he has received from other academies.

With regard to NTVA and the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, no arguments have been made that the current arrangement with self-recruitment and a limited number of members is preferable. It has been said in the first place that this is the way it has always been done, but this is not generally a good argument in the scientific community.

He will discuss the standards

Preses May thanked Thorseth Einevoll for a gunpowder-laced lecture, which gave the guests something to think about.

– We invited him because he raises important questions that, in principle, should also be broadcast in the academies. She told Khrono before giving the lecture that the holiday is a good occasion because it gathers many members.

– Do you imagine some of his criticisms could become something that DKNVS could take into account and do something about in the future?

– I imagine DKNVS is following up on the issue raised by Gaute Einevoll and discussing the basis and criteria for becoming a member, eg whether there should be additional requirements for more active participation.

Thorseth mentions science councils, committee work and more active contacts under the auspices of DKNVS.

– This is as part of being scholarly meritorious in ways that serve an independent and independent academic movement.