Rolf Skår
Norwegian engineer (1941–2023)
Rolf Skår (13 May 1941 – 24 May 2023) was a Norwegian engineer and entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of the computer manufacturing company Norsk Data in 1967, and took over as chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from 1978 to 1989.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Rolf Skår (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born May 13, 1941, died May 24, 2023.1
About
He was later CEO of the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, chaired the Norwegian Polytechnic Society, and was CEO of the Norwegian Space Centre from 1998 to 2006. For his contributions to information technology and space activity, Skår was knighted as in the First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 2010.
From Wikipedia’s article on Rolf Skår, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- Norsk DataFounder13
Early life and education
- Date not recordedNorwegian Institute of Technology3
Born on the island of Karmøy on 13 May 1941, Skår was the son of farmer and fisherman Lars Martin Skår and Magnhild Ytreland.
In 1966, Skår graduated in cybernetics from the Norwegian Institute of Technology where he studied under Professor Jens Glad Balchen.
During his studies he had several periods abroad. In the summer of 1963 he went to Switzerland to work for an electrical products manufacturer. The following year he took part in the CERN Summer Student Programme working with digital technology and during the summer 1965 he worked for NATO Saclant in La Spezia, Italy. His diploma involved software development on the minicomputer SAM at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, while serving his mandatory military duty there. After the military duty, he was assigned as researcher at the institute, working on the institute's next computer project called SAM-2.
From Wikipedia’s article on Rolf Skår (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: computer scientist.8
- 1998 to 2006Chief executive officer, Norwegian Space Agency6 7
- 1978 to 1989Chief executive officer, Norsk Data6 7
- Date not recordedWorked at Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences4
- Date not recordedFounded Norsk Data5
From 1990 to 1992, Skår was CEO of the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and he was CEO of Norconsult from 1993 to 1997. From 1993 to 1995 he also chaired the Norwegian Polytechnic Society. He was CEO of the Norwegian Space Centre from 1998 to 2006, thus taking a leading part in the development of the Svalbard Satellite Station, as well as in bringing modern telecommunication to Svalbard by establishing fiber cables between Svalbard and mainland Norway, the Svalbard Undersea Cable System. He also represented Norway in the European Space Agency.
From Wikipedia’s article on Rolf Skår (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Skår married Aslaug Signy Nisi, a librarian and preschool teacher, in 1965.
He died on 24 May 2023, at age 82.
From Wikipedia’s article on Rolf Skår (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awards
- 2010Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav12
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataRolf Skår on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaRolf Skår on Wikipedia
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- 12WikidataRolf Skår: award, on Wikidata
- 13WikidataNorsk Data, Founder
- 14Wikimedia CommonsRolf Skår photo by St. Gallen Symposium, CC BY-SA 4.0