Eystein Jansen holds a PhD in Earth Science from the University of Bergen where he has been professor of palaeoclimatology since 1993. Jansen was the founding director of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, a world leading centre on climate dynamics, which he led for 13 years. Jansen is presently Academic Director for the Academia Europaea Bergen Knowledge Hub and is vice director for the interdisciplinary SapienCE Centre, on Early Sapiens behaviour at the University of Bergen. Jansen is a member of Academia Europaea, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences and the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research. He was co-ordinating lead author in the 4th (2007) and and lead author in the 5th (2013) Assessment Reports of the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Jansen was in 2019 awarded the Brøgger prize for lifelong contributions to geological sciences and the Meltzer prize for excellence in research. His research has primarily dealt with the influence of changes in ocean circulation on climate and on natural climate changes of the past and present, with key contributions to our understanding of the evolution of ice ages and on abrupt climate change. 2014-2019 he is principal investigator of an ERC Synergy Grant, ice2ice, on abrupt climate changes. He has also served as member of ERC’s panel for Advanced Grants.

​​​​​​​Mandate ERC Scientific Council: 1 Jul 2023 - 31 December 2025 (2nd term)