Holmenkollstafetten 2008

UNIK finished on a 171st place in the group "Mosjonslag (flest menn)" in this years edition of Holmenkollstafetten. The time 1:11:01 would have been enough to win the group "Kvinner, superveteraner" or to finish 5th in the group of runners that ran the whole relay race alone. But more importantly, the time was good enough to beat 316 teams in our own group.

Besides, I think all of us had a very pleasant Saturday afternoon, with plenty of time for enjoying the beautiful weather. And noone got injured.

The team. (Within the frame: Vidar, Jakob, Bjørnar, Erlend, Anders, Håkon, Joakim, Morten, Karen, Elin, Kristin, Kjetil, Roar and Bjørn. Outside the frame: Hans Jørgen.)

Visit to IFE 30 April 2008

11 excited UniK students we were welcomed at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) at Kjeller by Viktor Wikstrøm. Finally we would see the Kjeller reactor.
First we were briefed on IFE's research activities, and as they are aimed at solving the world's energy problems, IFE's activities are many and interesting.

Tor Bjørnstad told us about non-radioactive tracers and how they are used to understand the flows in oil and gas reservoirs. Then Magnus Sørby explained why we need to find new ways of binding hydrogen for hydrogen cars so that we won't have to drive around with an extra trailer for the fuel. Harald Johansen talked about CO2 management, and how CO2 also can be a resource not just waste that must be disposed of.

We were led to the reactor. Two in the group were given to carry measuring equipment for radioactivity - just in case - and then we entered the control room. The control room is very much as it was when the reactor was built, but of course modernised. Still, the old wall charts works very well in explaining how the reactor works.


When entering the reactor room we had to go through an airlock system before entering the main sight.

And on the way Tor Bjørnstad and Magnus Sørby explained.















How will your kitten look after being in contact with the neutrons produced in a JEEP-II reactor?

And the visit ended with a great lunch.

We thank IFE for an interesting and instructive tour.

UNIK Open 2008 in retrospective

Vinh won UNIK Open 2008, defending his title from last year. His unique combination of skill, good equipment and meticulous preparations (see the last picture in this post) has lead to that Vinh is undefeated in the last three competitions and is thus the undisputed table tennis champion of UNIK. Anders finished second, and Morten third.
Anders...
...Vinh...
...the referee...

...Anders, Vinh and the referee in action in the same frame...
...and the happy top three of the competition.
Vinh is warming up before the match (the picture is from a previous tournament, but never mind).