Responsibilities
At the end of 2017, I chose to retire. Since then, I have held a docent emeritus agreement with USN (University of South-Eastern Norway). Over the years, my expertise and competence have been directed towards vision and vision problems, and in particular the areas of: general optometry, visual ergonomics, workplace optometry, eyeglasses, contact lenses, history of the profession, blinking, social optometry, professional and health policy, optometry education, e-learning (... and subject-related humor).
A contributing factor to a somewhat early retirement was that in the autumn of 2016 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. This neurological disease is characterized by causing problems particularly related to movement and mobility. However, as a sort of irony of fate, the disease can also cause vision problems.
Visual challenges in Parkinson's is a topic I have shed light on for the Norwegian Parkinson's Association and given a number of lectures on in recent years. Here I have also written three articles on Parkinson's disease and vision problems in the journal Optikeren:
- Parkinsons sykdom og synsproblematikk. Optikeren 2-2021 (pages 42–48)
- Parkinsons sykdom og synsproblematikk. Brilleutfordringer. Optikeren 4-2024 (pages 44–49)
- Parkinsons sykdom og synsproblematikk. Svekket konvergens. Optikeren 4-2025 (pages 40–46)
External professional activity in the last few years before I retired was directed particularly towards workplace optometry and contact lenses.
Within workplace optometry, now more often referred to as visual ergonomics, I was involved in starting up a Technical Committee for Visual Ergonomics in the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) in 2009. Here I served as chair until 2012.
Within contact lenses, I have for many years participated in a large international collaboration to map contact lens trends. The latest results I helped collect were published in the January 2018 issue of Contact Lens Spectrum under the title "International contact lens prescribing in 2017."
Competences
Lecturing areas:
Since I first started up to work within the Norwegian optometry education in 1983 I have lectured most optometry related topics. However, these days I mainly do administrative work, coordinate post degree courses, are involved in e-learning, and do some research and developement work (R&D). My lecturing areas today are limited to topics related to contact lenses and visual ergonomics.
CV
Educated as a dispensing optician at Tinius Olsens School at Kongberg (1978) and as an optometrist at Kongsberg College of Engineering, Department of Optometry (1980). Later a B.Sc.-degree in optometry at The City University in London (1986), and M.Sc.-degree in clinical optometry at Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now Salus University) (2000).