Evaluation Report Publications of the Academy of Finland 1/11

Research profile
The unit has a long history of successful work on methods-oriented organic synthesis, 
in particular asymmetric synthesis utilising the amino acid part of the chiral pool. 
Elements of mechanistic studies by experiments or calculations are present. Other 
highly related themes are total synthesis of natural products, combinatorial chemistry, 
organocatalysis and miniaturisation of reactions. 

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Research quality
The research in the evaluated period is of a high quality, and was disseminated as a 
high number of good to excellent papers in appropriate and well-recognised 
international journals in the field. However, considering the level of funding and the 
size of the unit in senior researcher FTEs, the output in the evaluated period is low.
The unit is internationally well-recognised, as reflected in numerous conference 
invitations and the high number of incoming postdoctoral researchers from  
Europe.
Research environment
The available in-house infrastructure is adequate, although currently the organisation 
for handling and maintaining heavy instruments is not to the full satisfaction to the 
unit head. More advanced instrumentation is available on campus or elsewhere in the 
Helsinki area, but the unit, as was stated in the interview, does not often use these 
facilities. 
Research networking and interaction
The unit participates in national graduate schools, and has initiated a successful Tekes 
collaborative programme for methods development involving the methods-oriented 
synthetic organic chemistry groups in Finland as academic partners. The unit is active 
in the Nordic arena (NordForsk programme on selective synthesis) and has been 
involved in several COST actions in the evaluated period. The international network 
of the head of unit is impressive, and the second professor holds several commissions 
of trust. The number of papers with non-departmental (national and international) 
co-authors is still low. To some extent, this reflects the tradition in the field of 
methods-oriented organic synthesis. 
Recommendations
Organic synthesis in a method-development perspective is important for organic 
chemistry and related disciplines in Finland, including the pharmaceutical and 
biotechnological industry. For enhanced viability of this direction in Finland and 
within AU, opportunities for novel themes that increase diversity by complementing 
the current main direction should be supported. 
In addition, the panel recommends elements of applied organic chemistry, with 
in-house or dedicated external collaborative projects for screening and developing 
applications for the products. However, this should not be implemented at the 
expense of the core themes of fundamental organic chemistry. Such a development of 
the unit will be particularly important in order to keep the “technology” label visible 
in the new AU structure.
4.7  Aalto University, Physical Chemistry
Overview
The unit is a small unit within the Department of Chemistry, consisting of one 
professor and a total of roughly 15 persons of which ten are PhD students. A new 
chair within the group was filled in 2010, which will open a new research direction 
within computational chemistry. The external funding of the unit amounts to 60 per 

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cent of the budget and it is obtained from a broad range of sources and includes