Hydrogen Bonding in Organic Synthesis

Petri Pihko was born in 1971 in Oulu, Finland. He became interested in chemistry several years before entering the university, assisted by inspiring teachers, Maija Aksela (currently a Professor of Chemical Education at the University of Helsinki) and Prof. Hans Krieger, who also taught him organic chemistry at the University of Oulu before his retirement. Petri Pihko then joined the research group of Professor Ari Koskinen, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1999. Between 1999 and 2001, he enjoyed nearly two years of a wonderful time as a postdoctoral associate with Professor K. C. Nicolaou at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, USA. In 2001, he joined the faculty of Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), and in 2008, his research group moved to the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. His research interests include organocatalysis, catalyst design, and total synthesis of natural products.