Kari Laasonen

Kemistintie 1

Research activity per year

Artistic and research interests

Kari Laasonen established the Computational Chemistry research group in 2010, when he was appointed the professor of Physical Chemistry. Before moving to Aalto University, he held the same professor position at the University of Oulu between 1996 and 2010.

Kari Laasonen has a strong background in both physical chemistry and theoretical physics. He received his doctoral degree in theoretical physics at the University of Helsinki, but later he was also awarded the degree of docent in physical chemistry. After graduating, Kari Laasonen spent many years abroad visiting world-renowned research groups. Notable highlights include Prof. Michele Parrinello's group at the IBM Research Laboratory in Switzerland, and Prof. Michael Klein's group at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

Education/Academic qualification

Doctoral degree, Natural Sciences, University of Helsinki

Award Date: 10 Oct 1991

Master's degree, Natural Sciences, University of Helsinki

Award Date: 18 Feb 1988

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13 Climate Action

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Kari Laasonen is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

1 Similar Profiles

198 Article
2 Chapter
2 Conference article in proceedings
2 Meeting Abstract
More

A computational approach to investigate adsorption on polar metal oxide surfaces: A DFT study of H₂O₂ dissociation and interaction with ALD-fabricated ZnO(002)
Mäkinen, M. & Laasonen, K., 1 Dec 2026, In: Applied Surface Science. 748, 9 p., 167747.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Open Access
File
2 Downloads (Pure)
A Machine Learning-Guided Study of Structure-Reactivity Relationships in Diels-Alder Cycloadditions
Mahdian, A., Farshadfar, K. & Laasonen, K., 23 Jan 2026, In: Journal of Organic Chemistry. 91, 3, p. 1329-1336 8 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Open Access
File
1 Citation (Web of Science)

8 Downloads (Pure)
Diaryl Thiourea Catalysts Promote the Formation of Propargyl Enol Ethers in the Claisen Rearrangement Sequence
Bruce-Salmenkivi, V. K., Farshadfar, K., Laasonen, K. & Pihko, P. M., 25 Jul 2026, In: European Journal of Organic Chemistry. 29, 28, 8 p., e70560.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Open Access
File
3 Downloads (Pure)
Identification of HOTf-Driven Brønsted Acid Catalysis in the AuCl₃/AgOTf System for the Hydroalkylation of Styrene
Mahdian, A., Nikonovich, T., Kaabel, S., Laasonen, K. & Farshadfar, K., 18 May 2026, In: Inorganic Chemistry. 65, 19, p. 10885-10891 7 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Open Access
File
4 Downloads (Pure)
On the role of hydrogen-deficient species during alkylamine hydrotreating on platinum catalysts
Kattelus, J., Verkama, E., Velasco, J. A., Karinen, R., Laasonen, K. & Puurunen, R. L., Jan 2026, In: Journal of Catalysis. 453, 14 p., 116572.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Open Access
File
22 Downloads (Pure)

2 Active
11 Finished

H2fromHE: Hydrogen production by hydrocarbon electrolysis
Laasonen, K. (Principal investigator), Khakpour, R. (Project Member), Jafari, M. (Project Member) & Mahdian, A. (Project Member)
01/09/2024 → 31/08/2028
Project: RCF Academy Project
ReZilient: Redox-mediated hybrid zinc-air flow batteries for more resilient integrated power systems
Laasonen, K. (Principal investigator) & Mahdian, A. (Project Member)
01/10/2023 → 30/09/2027
Project: EU_HEFWP
Zn-DEN: Design principal and Mechanisms of multifunctional electrolyte additives for the Stable Aqueous Zn battery
Laasonen, K. (Principal investigator)
01/03/2024 → 28/02/2026
Project: RCF Researcher Mobility
XAI-BAT-Aka: Materials Development for Flow Batteries with Help of Explainable AI
Laasonen, K. (Principal investigator), Jafari, M. (Project Member), Khakpour, R. (Project Member), Farshadfar, K. (Project Member), Mahdian, A. (Project Member) & Mäkinen, M. (Project Member)
EU The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)
01/01/2022 → 31/12/2024
Project: RCF Academy Project targeted call
Digipower: Digital technologies for development of next generation energy storage
Laasonen, K. (Principal investigator)
15/09/2020 → 14/03/2024
Project: Unknown

Supporting Information for How to Predict the pKa of Any Compound in Any Solvent: Structures
Busch, M. (Creator), Ahlberg, E. (Creator), Ahlberg, E. (Creator) & Laasonen, K. (Creator), figshare, 9 May 2022
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c01393.s003
Dataset
Understanding Electron Transfer Reactions using Constrained Density Functional Theory: Complications due to Surface Interactions
Hashemi, A. (Creator), Peljo, P. (Creator) & Laasonen, K. (Creator), Zenodo, 30 Nov 2022
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7388979, https://zenodo.org/record/7388980
Dataset
Kinetics of N2 Release from Diazo Compounds: A Combined Machine Learning-Density Functional Theory Study
Farshadfar, K. (Creator), Hashemi Petrudi, A. (Creator), Khakpour, R. (Creator) & Laasonen, K. (Creator), Zenodo, 22 Sept 2023
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.83702199, https://zenodo.org/record/8370200
Dataset
Reconciling the Experimental and Computational Hydrogen Evolution Activities of Pt(111) through DFT-Based Constrained MD Simulations: Machine-readable geometries (.xyz) of all optimized NEB stationary states
Kronberg, R. (Creator) & Laasonen, K. (Creator), figshare, 17 Jun 2021
DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c00538.s002, https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Reconciling_the_Experimental_and_Computational_Hydrogen_Evolution_Activities_of_Pt_111_through_DFT-Based_Constrained_MD_Simulations/14802920?backTo=/collections/Reconciling_the_Experimental_and_Computational_Hydrogen_Evolution_Activities_of_Pt_111_through_DFT-Based_Constrained_MD_Simulations/5472755
Dataset
Density Functional Theory and Machine Learning for Electrochemical Square-Scheme Prediction: An Application to Quinone-type Molecules Relevant to Redox Flow Batteries
Hashemi Petrudi, A. (Creator), Khakpour, R. (Creator), Mahdian, A. (Creator), Busch, M. (Creator), Peljo, P. (Creator) & Laasonen, K. (Creator), Zenodo, 20 May 2023
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7952776, https://zenodo.org/records/8268829
Dataset

Computational Chemistry Days
Karttunen, A. (Organiser), Sammalkorpi, M. (Organiser) & Laasonen, K. (Organiser)
Dec 2021
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Membership of an organizing committee or other positions of trust of a conference or a seminar
Sustainable platinum group metal free catalyst materials, case studies - Hydrogen evolution and Fisher-Tropsch reactions
Laasonen, K. (Invited speaker)
14 Sept 2017
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Conference presentation
Carbon Nanotubes Based Catalyst for Electrochemical Reactions – Synthesis and Modelling
Laasonen, K. (Invited speaker)
1 Sept 2017
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Conference presentation
Modeling of complex metal alloys and nanoparticles via multiscale first-principles methods
Laasonen, K. (Invited speaker)
7 Jun 2017 → 9 Jun 2017
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Conference presentation
Foreign Organisation
Laasonen, K. (Visiting researcher)
20 Mar 2016 → 22 Mar 2016
Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Visiting an external academic institution

6 kysymystä tekoälystä – Ratkaiseeko se kemian haasteet?
Laasonen, K.
06/03/2024
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media appearance
Researchers at Aalto University Release New Data on Chemicals and Chemistry (Density Functional Theory Study of Trends In Water Dissociation On Oxygen-preadsorbed and Pure Transition Metal Surfaces)
Laasonen, K.
07/08/2023
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media appearance
Findings from Aalto University Provide New Insights into Chemicals and Chemistry (Co2 or Carbonates - What Is the Active Species In Electrochemical Co2 Reduction Over Fe-porphyrin?)
Lindberg, D. & Laasonen, K.
05/04/2023
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media appearance
Findings on Energy Materials Discussed by Investigators at Aalto University (Temperature-controlled Syngas Production Via Electrochemical Co2 Reduction On a Cotpp/mwcnt Composite In a Flow Cell)
Kallio, T. & Laasonen, K.
31/01/2023
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media appearance
Dynamics of Electrified Interfaces and Hydrogen Evolution from Density Functional Theory
Laasonen, K. & Lappalainen, H.
04/11/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media appearance

Kari Laasonen

Personal profile

Artistic and research interests

Education/Academic qualification

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

Fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Dive into details

A computational approach to investigate adsorption on polar metal oxide surfaces: A DFT study of H₂O₂ dissociation and interaction with ALD-fabricated ZnO(002)

A Machine Learning-Guided Study of Structure-Reactivity Relationships in Diels-Alder Cycloadditions

Diaryl Thiourea Catalysts Promote the Formation of Propargyl Enol Ethers in the Claisen Rearrangement Sequence

Identification of HOTf-Driven Brønsted Acid Catalysis in the AuCl₃/AgOTf System for the Hydroalkylation of Styrene

On the role of hydrogen-deficient species during alkylamine hydrotreating on platinum catalysts

H2fromHE: Hydrogen production by hydrocarbon electrolysis

ReZilient: Redox-mediated hybrid zinc-air flow batteries for more resilient integrated power systems

Zn-DEN: Design principal and Mechanisms of multifunctional electrolyte additives for the Stable Aqueous Zn battery

XAI-BAT-Aka: Materials Development for Flow Batteries with Help of Explainable AI

Digipower: Digital technologies for development of next generation energy storage

Supporting Information for How to Predict the pKa of Any Compound in Any Solvent: Structures

Understanding Electron Transfer Reactions using Constrained Density Functional Theory: Complications due to Surface Interactions

Kinetics of N2 Release from Diazo Compounds: A Combined Machine Learning-Density Functional Theory Study

Reconciling the Experimental and Computational Hydrogen Evolution Activities of Pt(111) through DFT-Based Constrained MD Simulations: Machine-readable geometries (.xyz) of all optimized NEB stationary states

Density Functional Theory and Machine Learning for Electrochemical Square-Scheme Prediction: An Application to Quinone-type Molecules Relevant to Redox Flow Batteries

Computational Chemistry Days

Sustainable platinum group metal free catalyst materials, case studies - Hydrogen evolution and Fisher-Tropsch reactions

Carbon Nanotubes Based Catalyst for Electrochemical Reactions – Synthesis and Modelling

Modeling of complex metal alloys and nanoparticles via multiscale first-principles methods

Foreign Organisation

6 kysymystä tekoälystä – Ratkaiseeko se kemian haasteet?

Researchers at Aalto University Release New Data on Chemicals and Chemistry (Density Functional Theory Study of Trends In Water Dissociation On Oxygen-preadsorbed and Pure Transition Metal Surfaces)

Findings from Aalto University Provide New Insights into Chemicals and Chemistry (Co2 or Carbonates - What Is the Active Species In Electrochemical Co2 Reduction Over Fe-porphyrin?)

Findings on Energy Materials Discussed by Investigators at Aalto University (Temperature-controlled Syngas Production Via Electrochemical Co2 Reduction On a Cotpp/mwcnt Composite In a Flow Cell)

Dynamics of Electrified Interfaces and Hydrogen Evolution from Density Functional Theory

Kari Laasonen

Personal profile

Artistic and research interests

Education/Academic qualification

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

Fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Research output

Projects

Datasets

Activities

Press/Media