On the northern tip of Iceland in the town of Akureyri, Ari Brynjólfsson began a journey that would lead him far from the mountains and fjords of his home. His career drew a line through the centres of scientific research in Denmark, Germany and the United States, ultimately shaping how radiation is used to ensure food safety around the world.
Early life and education
Ari Brynjólfsson was one of seven children, born to Brynjólfur Sigtryggsson and Guðrún Rósinkarsdóttir, whose roots were in Hörgárdalur. After growing up in Krossanes by Eyjafjörður, he graduated from Menntaskólinn á Akureyri in 1948. Rather than remain in Iceland, he sought knowledge in nuclear physics at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. There, he earned his PhD in 1954, constructing a device for the precise measurement of rock magnetism, a foundation for his later work.
Shortly after, he was awarded research fellowships in Iceland and Germany. At the University of Göttingen he conducted influential research on magnetic moments, developing an instrument that provided strong evidence for reversals in the Earth’s magnetic field. This methodical, tool-building approach would mark much of his later scientific output.
Innovation in science and global impact
Brynjólfsson’s career led him to head radiation research facilities in Denmark’s Risø Laboratory and later for the US Army in Natick, Massachusetts. His leadership in these roles helped advance the understanding and application of radiation, particularly for food irradiation, an approach that reduces the threat of foodborne illness. His expertise was recognised with awards, such as the Møller Foundation Award in 1965 and the Radiation Science and Technology Award from the American Nuclear Society in 1988.
In addition to these posts, Brynjólfsson managed the International Facility for Food Irradiation Technology under the United Nations’ FAO and IAEA from 1988 to 1992. Throughout his life, he published extensively on the subject of food irradiation and worked to develop radiation facilities worldwide. This focus on practical applications of physics brought tangible benefits to food safety and global health.
Brynjólfsson’s scientific interests extended beyond food technology. He published research on reverse plasma redshift and pursued independent cosmological theories within plasma cosmology. In 2004, he joined with other researchers in questioning scientific funding priorities, advocating for alternative ideas in cosmology beyond the mainstream Big Bang framework.
When he died at age 86 in Tampa, Florida in 2013, he left behind not only a wide-reaching scientific legacy but also a large family that traced its origins to the landscapes of northern Iceland.
