Olav Egeland

Olav Egeland is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NTNU. He holds a siv.ing (1984) and dr.ing (1987) in Electrical Engineering from NTNU. Previously, he served as Professor of Robotics at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics (1989–2004), and led Marine Cybernetics AS as CTO/CEO (2004–2011). His academic roles include Head of Department of Engineering Cybernetics (1996–1998), Vice Dean of Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, and Research Committee member at NTNU. He contributed to strategic programs like SFI Offshore Mechatronics and the Centre of Ships and Ocean Structures.
His research focuses on nonlinear control, machine learning for mechanical systems, robotics, and offshore applications. Notable awards include the Automatica Prize Paper Award (1996) and IEEE Outstanding Paper Award (2000). He has supervised 85 MSc and 30 PhD students, with recent advisees exploring topics like robotic welding, Hamiltonian dynamics learning, and generative AI in robotics.
Key projects include vision systems for offshore drilling, laser scanning for aluminum welding, and adaptive control algorithms. His work spans publications in IEEE Transactions, European Journal of Control, and Springer monographs, emphasizing modeling, simulation, and advanced control techniques.

Education:

• Siv.ing (Electrical Engineering), NTNU, 1984
• Dr.ing (Electrical Engineering), NTNU, 1987

Research Themes:

• Nonlinear control and adaptive systems
• Machine learning applications in robotics and offshore engineering
• Robotics vision and sensor-based control
• Offshore mechatronics and crane dynamics

Grants & Roles:

• Strategic University Program in Marine Cybernetics (1997–2004)
• Work Package Lead in SFI Offshore Mechatronics
• Research collaborations in European Journal of Control and IEEE Transactions

Labs & Teams: Active in NTNU’s robotics and control research groups, contributing to industrial partnerships like Marine Cybernetics AS and SFI initiatives.