"It's a great honor to receive the Fridtjof Nansen Award for Young Researchers," says Kampffmeyer
Image:
Jørn Berger Nyvoll / UiT

"It's a great honor to receive the Fridtjof Nansen Award for Young Researchers," says Kampffmeyer

Michael Kampffmeyer receives the Fridtjof Nansen Prize for Young Researchers

Congratulations to our colleague Michael Kampffmeyer, who received the Fridtjof Nansen Prize for Young Researchers in 2026.

Michael Kampffmeyer receives the Fridtjof Nansen Prize for Young Researchers

Congratulations to our colleague Michael Kampffmeyer, who received the Fridtjof Nansen Prize for Young Researchers in 2026.

By Petter Bjørklund, Communications Officer at SFI Visual Intelligence

"It is a great honor to receive the Fridtjof Nansen Prize for Young Researchers," says Kampffmeyer to Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi. He is a Principal Investigator at SFI Visual Intelligence and Professor at UiT's Machine Learning Group.

Nansenfondet granted Kampffmeyer the prize based on scientific activities on a high international standard. He is also recognized for his scientific results, which is described by Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi as being of an outstanding originality.

The prize is awarded to young researchers in Norway who have produced scientific contributions of international significance on a high level.

"I want to thank my Norwegian and international collaborators, my students, and everyone who has contributed to our research on efficient and reliable AI—areas which are becoming increasingly relevant," says Kampffmeyer.

Extensive research career

Kampffmeyer is 34 years old and one of UiT's youngest professors. His research focuses on developing more efficient and reliable AI, which can be used e.g. within the health sector and to monitor the climate and natural resources.

In just a few years, he has published over 100 scientific articles and established an extensive collaborative network between UiT and recognized AI research environments in and outside of Norway.

He has received several national and international recognitions. In 2025, he won UiTs Young Researcher award at the university's annual celebration.

His research has contributed to innovative AI solutions in collaboration with Norwegian industry. Several of these solutions have already been implemented by industry and the public sector.

Michael Kampffmeyer will receive the award and a sum of 75 000 Norwegian kroner on May 4th, as part of Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi's annual meeting.

Latest news

Call for Papers and Abstracts: NLDL 2027

April 22, 2026

The Call for Papers and Abstracts for the Northern Lights Deep Learning (NLDL) Conference 2027 is officially announced – with submission deadlines on August 7th and Mid-September 2026 respectively.

Trends in Visual Intelligence 2026

April 17, 2026

The field of Visual Intelligence is continuously transforming. Chief Research Scientist Arnt-Børre Salberg dives deeper into the current trends in the field of visual intelligence as of early 2026.

Centre-developed seismic foundation model is now open source!

April 6, 2026

The NCS model, a seismic foundation model trained on data from the Norwegian data repository for subsurface data, is now available as an open-source model, allowing anyone to download, utilize, and further develop the model.

Visual Intelligence Annual Report 2025

March 31, 2026

The Visual Intelligence Annual Report 2025, highlighting the centre's progress, activities, achieved innovations, staff, funding, and publications for 2025, is now available to read on our websites.

Visual Intelligence strengthens ties with Pioneer Centre for AI in EHR-related research

March 26, 2026

Visual Intelligence researchers contributed to the Pioneer Centre for AI workshop on Electronic Health Records research. The aim was to strengthen ties between the two centres on EHR-related research.

Nordlys: Her blir KI-studentene grillet av sin «egen» teknologi

March 24, 2026

Tre av studentene i sivilingeniør i Kunstig Intelligens ved UiT skal delta i NM i KI. Slik gikk det da de ble intervjuet ved hjelp av kunstig intelligens (News article in nordlys.no).

My Research Stay at Visual Intelligence: Rami Al-Belmpeisi

March 15, 2026

Rami Al-Belmpeisi is a PhD Research Fellow in the Visual Computing section at DTU Compute, Technical University of Denmark. He visited Visual Intelligence in Tromsø from November 2025 to February 2026.

Visual Intelligence inspires future students at the UiT Open Day

March 12, 2026

Visual Intelligence researchers came to the UiT Open Day to inform the students about UiT's study programme, and inspire them to pursue AI-related studies and career paths.

Dagsavisen: Hun lærer kunstig intelligens å forstå medisinske bilder

March 4, 2026

Elisabeth Wetzer forsker på hvordan maskiner kan lære å analysere medisinske bilder – og samtidig forstå hva legene faktisk ser etter (Norwegian news article on dagsavisen.no)

My Research Stay at Visual Intelligence: Artur Radzivil

February 12, 2026

Artur Radzivil is a PhD Research Fellow at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. He visited Visual Intelligence in Oslo from September to November 2025.

Centre Director Robert Jenssen meets Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education, Sigrun Aasland

February 6, 2026

Centre Director Robert Jenssen met with Sigrun Aasland, Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education, alongside UiT and Aker Nscale representatives to give an update on Aker Nscale's AI Giga Factory in Narvik, Norway.