Arne Jørgen Aasen
Arne Jørgen Aasen | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 15, 1939 Norway |
| Occupation(s) | Chemist, professor emeritus |
| Years active | 1964–2007 (academic career) |
| Known for | Organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, natural products chemistry |
Arne Jørgen Aasen (born 15 October 1939) is a distinguished Norwegian chemist and professor emeritus affiliated with the University of Oslo, School of Pharmacy. He obtained his engineering degree specializing in biochemistry and organic chemistry in 1964, followed by a doctorate (dr. ing.) in organic chemistry from The Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, in 1966. In 1972, he earned a second doctoral degree (tekn. dr.) at The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
That same year, Aasen was appointed as an unpaid associate professor in organic chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology. By 1975, he had joined the University of Oslo's School of Pharmacy as dosent in general and pharmaceutical organic chemistry, a position he held until retiring in 2007, aside from two intervals. He accepted professorships in organic chemistry at the University of Tromsø starting in 1979 and at the Norwegian College of Agriculture (now Norwegian University of Life Sciences) beginning in 1983, serving for two and five years respectively.
In 1988, Aasen returned to the University of Oslo School of Pharmacy as a full professor and concurrently held a professor II role in natural products chemistry at the University of Tromsø from 1996 until 2007.
His international research engagements have included roles with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia, postdoctoral fellowships at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, a research scientist position at Swedish Tobacco Co., as well as visiting professorships at ARCO Plant Cell Research Institute and Nycomed Salutar Inc. located in California.
Aasen’s scientific investigations concentrate on elucidating absolute configurations of racemic pharmaceuticals, isolating and synthesizing natural compounds such as carotenoids and pyrrolizidine alkaloids, utilizing mass spectrometry for labeled wax esters, fatty acids, triglycerides, and identifying flavor components derived from tobacco and various plants.
Between 1979 and 1981, he was instrumental in founding the organic chemistry division at the University of Tromsø. From 1989 to 2002, he led the Department of Medicinal Chemistry within the University of Oslo's School of Pharmacy.
He has contributed his expertise as a co-judge or expert witness in nearly twenty legal cases concerning drug patent disputes within courts in Norway and New York. Since the year 2000, Aasen has acted as a consultant for Norwegian drug registries overseeing both human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.
In collaboration with associated professor Aman Dekebo during 2017, he conducted structural analyses on substances extracted from Commiphora africana resin—traditionally utilized medicinally—with their research published in 2020.
Academic distinctions
- Aasen was inducted into the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, Trondheim, Norway, in 1988.
- Since 2000, he has been a member of the International Advisory Board for the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia.
References
External links
- 1939 births
- Living people
- Norwegian chemists
- Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni
- Academic staff of the University of Tromsø
- Academic staff of the Norwegian College of Agriculture
- Academic staff of the University of Oslo
- Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters
- 20th-century Norwegian scientists
- 21st-century Norwegian scientists
- 20th-century Norwegian educators
- 21st-century Norwegian educators