Mati Karelson
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Wilhelm Ostwald Medal
Mati Karelson | |
|---|---|
 Karelson in 2006 | |
| Born | 27 December 1948 Tartu |
| Citizenship | Estonian |
| Awards | Order of the White Star, 3rd Class Wilhelm Ostwald Medal |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Tartu |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Tartu Tallinn University of Technology |
Mati Karelson (born 27 December 1948) is an Estonian chemist and academic whose work has centred on theoretical and computational chemistry, especially quantitative structure–activity and structure–property relationships (QSAR/QSPR), molecular descriptors, molecular design and the use of artificial intelligence in chemistry.[1][2] He is a professor emeritus at the University of Tartu, was elected a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences in 2007, and served as research and development adviser to the Prime Minister of Estonia from 2005 to 2014.[3][4][5]
Karelson was born in Tartu. He graduated from Tartu 5th Secondary School in 1967 and from the University of Tartu in 1972, specialising in organic chemistry. In 1975 he earned the degree of Candidate of Sciences in chemistry at the University of Tartu with a dissertation on the applicability of electrostatic models in organic chemistry.[6][7][1]
Career
After graduating, Karelson worked from 1972 to 1975 in the chair of organic chemistry at the University of Tartu. From 1975 to 1992 he was associated with the university's laboratory of chemical kinetics and catalysis, becoming head of the laboratory in 1988. In 1992 he became professor of theoretical chemistry at the university; from 1999 to 2002 he was director of the University of Tartu Technology Centre; and from 2005 to 2021 he was professor of molecular technology before becoming professor emeritus.[6][3] From 2004 to 2014 he also held a professorship in molecular technology at Tallinn University of Technology.[4][6]
Karelson has held visiting research and teaching appointments at the University of Florida, the University of London, the University of Oxford, Kiel University and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.[6][2] In public policy, he served as research and development adviser to the Prime Minister of Estonia from 2005 to 2014 and was a member of the President's think tank from 2007 to 2012.[4][6][5] He was elected a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences in 2007 in the field of natural sciences and medicine.[1][8]
Research
Karelson's research has included quantum theory of condensed and disordered media, modelling of chemical reactivity, QSAR/QSPR, heterocyclic chemistry, technological-property modelling, molecular technology and artificial intelligence in chemistry.[6][1][2] He has been particularly associated with the development of computer systems based on molecular descriptors for predicting the properties of chemical compounds and materials.[6][7]
In an international evaluation of Estonian chemistry published in 2001, his work was described as theoretically based but oriented towards practical applications, and his research group was included among the leading Estonian chemistry groups with strong international collaboration.[2] Later assessments likewise emphasised the broader influence of his research. In a history of Estonia's centres of excellence published by the Estonian Research Council, the molecular-design team led by Karelson and Uko Maran was described as providing theoretical models used by multiple other research teams to identify chemical targets for experimental work.[9]
Karelson is the author of the English-language monograph Molecular Descriptors in QSAR/QSPR (2000), a survey of theoretical molecular descriptors and their use in QSPR and QSAR modelling.[10] The book was reviewed by Hugo Kubinyi in Angewandte Chemie International Edition in 2001.[11] With Viktor S. Lobanov and Alan R. Katritzky, he also co-authored the review article "Quantum-Chemical Descriptors in QSAR/QSPR Studies" in Chemical Reviews in 1996.[12]