Born in Reykjavik 1951. MSc in Engineering physics in 1976, PhD thesis on thermal models for buildings in 1981 and appointed as an associate professor at Lund University in 1982. Awarded the title of doctor honoris causae from the University of Debrecen in 2008, the Swedish Concrete Award in 2011 and the gold medal of the Association of Chartered Engineers in Iceland in 2016.  Professor in Building Technology at KTH in Stockholm 1990-2008. His research has mainly covered building physics, energy conservation and energy quality management in the built environment. Since 2008 he is the Director General of Orkustofnun, the Icelandic National Energy Authority which is responsible for public administration of energy research, energy utilisation, regulation, water resources, minerals and oil and gas exploration. He is also the board chairman of the United Nations University Geothermal training program in Iceland. Presently he is a member of the steering group of the EU SET-Plan and coordinator of the Geothermica, a European project for cooperation amongst the EEA member states on R&D funding for geothermal utilisation.