Group CEO Miklos Konkoly-Thege opened the event to which DNV’s alumni had been invited along with current DNV Research employees – and other key employees. In addition to Miklos Konkoly-Thege, DNV’s former CEO, Egil Abrahamsen, played an active role, presenting a look back at the past 50 years. The present head of DNV Research, Carl Arne Carlsen, introduced a 12-minute video of the research operations called “From imitator to creator”.

DNV’s former CEO’s Egil Abrahamsen (left) and Sven Ullring have signed a wall which will be erected at a central location in DNV. All those involved in DNV’s research operations are invoted to sign this.

Henrik O. Madsen (left), Per Otto Araldsen and the current head, Carl Arne Carlsen, have all, as heads of DNV Research, been of great importance to the development of DNV’s research operations.

The laboratories were open to interested parties.

”The objective of the research week is to show what research and development have meant to DNV and to lay the foundation for a continued understanding of this, so that an event like this also gives us something to celebrate 50 years from now,” said Miklos Konkoly-Thege in his speech welcoming participants.

Egil Abrahamsen was the man who was given the task in 1954 of heading the organised research activities in DNV.

”Dr. Georg Vedeler, who took charge of DNV in 1951, was very clear in his priorities: Classification Rules had to be built on sound basic principles,” stated Egil Abrahamsen. “Until 1954, Rule Development was an integral part of the various classification departments. As usual what was urgent had a tendency to take priority over what was important.”

Continuous updating and improvement
In order to ensure the continuous updating and improvement of the DNV Rules, Vedeler established the Research Department in 1954. Egil Abrahamsen, who was one of Professor Vedeler’s former students, was asked to organise these activities. Subsequent developments in DNV have shown what a successful move this was – on the part of both Georg Vedeler and Egil Abrahamsen.

” The main objective of the Research Department, to update and improve DNV Rules, was obvious. But gradually other objectives manifested themselves during the years of ever expanding ship sizes, ship types and new technologies,” stated Egil Abrahamsen. “I believe strongly that control bodies like DNV will degenerate into bureaucratic and inflexible entities unless they maintain strong and creative research groups that offer help instead of hindrance to their clients, be it owners, ship yards, insurance groups or other interested parties.”

Beyond technological research
“It is with great satisfaction I note that DNV continues to emphasise the importance of in-house research. DNV has now gone beyond technological research and even researches into behavioural science, and for good reasons. These are good signals for the future of DNV. “I wish you luck with the Research Week,” said Egil Abrahamsen, 50 years after the first initiative was taken in a perpetual race to constantly keep DNV at the forefront.

Varied programme
The Open Research week had a varied programme in which all the business areas focused on their research activities. DNV Technology Services started off and was followed by DNV Certification, DNV Maritime, DNV Consulting and DNV Software. The laboratories were open to interested parties. There was also an internal Jazz Cabaret. A number of externally oriented activities were carried out in connection with the Research Days in Oslo. A separate seminar was arranged in the University of Oslo’s Assembly Hall on 21 September in collaboration with the Polytechnic Association. Apart from this, DNV’s Technology Outlook is available in an updated version for 2004 and a separate history book focusing on the most important events in DNV’s research history is currently being prepared.