Olaf Østensen
Olaf Magnus Østensen (born 1950) is a Norwegian civil servant. He works in the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority, where he is Deputy Director for NGIS.
Østensen is a trained mathematician and graduated in 1977 graduate of the University of Oslo.
Østensen is particularly known for his work with the organization and accessibility of map information and have made a particular effort establishment of standards for online information. Internationally, he is head of the Technical Committee 211 of the International Organization for Standardization,[1] which has the task to work out international standards for geographic information.[2] Østensen has also been head of the Norwegian Standards Council,[3] which has proposed standards that apply to audio and video content on public sites.
The Royal Norwegian Court announced on 17 November 2009 that the King had appointed Østensen as a Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav for socially beneficial work. It was further informed that the decision to award him was based on "[..] Østensens pioneering work related to national standardization work and the development of access to public information."[4]