Fun facts about the faculty: Thomas G. Jensen
Head of department since 2011, professor of medical genetics and long-standing member of the Danish Council on Ethics and the National Committee on Health Research Ethics. Thomas G. Jensen is one of the faculty's familiar faces, and his academic merits are easy to spot. But here’s some bonus information that Google won’t be able to tell you. Did you know that…
- ... the G in Thomas G. Jensen stands for Gryesten? Thomas was named after boulders that, according to the legend, were thrown by a giant and landed on northern Funen. The boulders are actually named “GryDesten” with a d, but his parents were worried that he would be teased if they used that spelling, so they dropped the d. According to Thomas Gryesten Jensen, his middle name is far too difficult to pronounce in English, which is why he shortened it to a very succinct ‘G’.
- ... Thomas G. Jensen played keyboard in a funk band during his studies in Aarhus? The name of the band and the band itself have long since been lost to time, but Thomas G. Jensen still plays on the grand piano at home when he can – though not quite as well as one of his sons, who is an internationally renowned concert pianist.
- ... the textile factory 'Jensen Coat' in Herning was owned by Thomas G. Jensen's parents? They produced women’s coats, and each Thursday and Friday their young son sold leftover fabrics to the people of Herning. He could answer almost any question customers asked him from the polyester percentage of a given fabric to how much shrinkage they could expect from a woollen textile.