The Rector is chair of the University Council, the University's most senior administrator, and the University's ultimate representative and advocate in dealings with individuals and institutions within and outside the University. The rector presides over University operations and initiates institution-wide policy-making by the University Council. Between University Council meetings, the rector holds decision-making power in all University matters.
The role of the rector is in accordance with the Act on Public Higher Education Institutions, no. 85/2008.
The rector is appointed for five years by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation after being elected by the University community.
Dr Jón Atli Benediktsson took office as chair of the University Council and Rector of the University of Iceland in July 2015.
Jón Atli Benediktsson is recognized for his leadership, academic excellence, and contributions to engineering and higher education. His role as Rector of the University of Iceland underscores his commitment to fostering an environment of academic rigor and innovation. Under his leadership, the university has continued to thrive as a leading institution for higher education and research in Iceland.
© Kristinn Ingvarsson | Háskóli Íslands
Request of better quality pictures may be sent to: skjalasafn@hi.is
Jón Atli Benediktsson became President of the University Council and Rector of the University of Iceland in July 2015. Prior to taking office, Jón Atli was a professor at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has served as the Pro-Rector for Science and Academic Affairs since 2009 and has held various other administrative positions within the University of Iceland.
Jón Atli graduated with a PhD from Purdue University in Indiana, USA in 1990. His research has focused on remote sensing, image analysis, signal processing and biomedical engineering. He has authored and co-authored more than 300 research papers and book chapters. He is a Fellow of IEEE - the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2004) and of SPIE (2013).
He received the Stevan J. Kristof Award (1990), the Young Researcher Award from the Icelandic Research Council (1997), the IEEE Millenium Medal (2000), and Iceland's Electrical Engineer of the Year Award (2013).
He has also received many awards for his scientific papers, including the Highest Impact Paper Award from the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (2013). Jón Atli was editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing from 2003 to 2008. He is now a member of the editorial board of the flagship journal of the IEEE – Proceedings of IEEE.
In 2011 and 2012 he was the President of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. From 2014, he has been a member of the IEEE Fellow Committee.
Jón Atli is co-founder of the company Oxymap which has developed equipment and software for the diagnosis of eye disease via digital image analysis. He is the co-author of three patents.
Jón Atli has been a visiting professor at universities in Italy, the UK and China. He was also a visiting scientist at the Joint Research Centre in Italy (1998). Jón Atli has taught graduate courses at the University of Trento, Italy (annually, 2001-2013), the University of Genoa, Italy (2003) and Jilin University, China (2007).
Jón Atli is married to Stefanía Óskarsdóttir, an associate professor at the UI Faculty of Political Science. They have two sons: Benedikt Atli (born 1991) and Friðrik (born 2003).
