Overview
Professor Eyvind Thorbjornsen was the founder of the UT Tree Improvement Program, coming to The University of Tennessee after graduating with a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in 1959. He shortened his family name to “Thor” upon becoming an American citizen.
Professor Thor was born in Oslo, Norway on November 24, 1928. After completing compulsory service in the Norwegian Army, he enrolled in the State Forestry School at Steinkjer. He traveled to the United States after graduation and enrolled in the School of Forestry, University of Washington. Professor Thor received his B. S. (1954) and M. S. (1956) degrees in Forestry at the University of Washington and was accepted as a doctoral student by Dr. Bruce Zobel at North Carolina State University. Following graduation, he came to the University of Tennessee to initiate forest tree improvement research in the state.
Professor Thor had an active career through educating many graduate students and being a consistent contributor to the scientific literature. He not only began forest tree improvement in Tennessee, but played a key role in initiating the Christmas tree industry in Tennessee. For more details on his career, please see the History section of this website. He passed away on May 22, 2014 at age 85.
