Originally from Norway, I started my university training there and completed it in Canada after moving here in the 1970s, obtaining a PhD from the University of Alberta followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Ottawa. In 1984 I accepted a position in Nova Scotia and made the move to Truro, both of which I have never regretted.
When I retired in 2017, after a 33 year academic career, I was Professor of Animal Science in the Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture. During my career, my scientific society was the International Society for Applied Ethology. As an applied ethologist, I studied animal behaviour that was, for the most part, domestic animal behaviour. Sabbaticals in Brazil and Norway and at the University of British Columbia were memorable. For five years, from 2005 to 2011, I was Department Chair.
At 28 years of age I became a Canadian citizen, which I have also never regretted. During our just over 40 years in Truro my wife and I have raised a daughter and two sons. In Nova Scotia, I learned to love sea kayaking. Now, after eight years of retirement, I still enjoy travelling, cross-country skiing, cycling, and puttering at our place at Malagash.