Tor Grande

Tor Grande is a Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), currently serving as Rector. He previously held leadership roles including Pro-Rector for Research and Dissemination (2021-2023), Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Natural Sciences (2013-2020), and Department Head (2005-2009, 2020). His research focuses on ferroic materials, solid state ionics, aqueous chemistry synthesis, and thermodynamics of materials.

• Education: MSc in Chemistry (1987) and PhD in Inorganic Chemistry (1992) from NTH/NTNU.
• Key Research Areas: Ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials, phase transitions, cation transport in oxides, and ceramic processing.

His recent publications (2022-2025) explore crystal structures of complex oxides, phase transitions in tungsten bronzes, and processing of ferroelectric films. Notable scientific honors include scholarships from the Norwegian Technical Science Research Council, the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, and the Gender Equality Award at NTNU (2009). Grande has supervised 35 PhD candidates, co-authored 310+ refereed journal articles, and contributed to patents in materials engineering.

• Leadership Roles: Chairman of Universities Norway, Board Member of SINTEF, The VISTA Foundation, and SFI Metal Production.
• Outreach: Active in academic governance, gender balance initiatives, and disseminating materials science research.