He was a professor and rector (1984–1990) at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, and later worked for the Research Council of Norway.
[1][2] He was a member of the technical committee of Det Norske Veritas for many years, and has also held positions in NTNF, the European Science Foundation, the International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress and the Nordic Research Council, a predecessor of NordForsk.
During his research career he was also a visiting scholar at Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
[1] In 1993 he was hired in the newly established Research Council of Norway,[2] and from 1995 to 1998 he was their director of strategy.
[4] In 2012 he was appointed by Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to serve on the Governing Board of the U.S. Norway Fulbright Foundation for Educational Exchange.