Synnøve Liaaen-Jensen was the true queen of carotenoid research. She stood out among her fellow
carotenophiles, both literally and figuratively; her Norwegian attribute of tall stature guaranteed that
she was always easy find at conferences and her blonde head often towered above her colleagues. Even
more striking were her intellect and personal presence. I suspect that few of us who knew Synnøve are
unable to recall clearly the first time we met her. My own first meeting was in 1987 at the International
Carotenoid Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts. She was regally passing from poster to poster reading
each and quizzing the presenters, weighing and testing the strength of each conclusion and offering
encouragement and suggestions for future work. I was nervous but greatly relieved by her genuine
interest and encouragement. Over the years, I came to realize that my own first experience of Synnøve
was not unusual.
Born March 1, 1932, Synnøve Liaaen was the daughter of Nils LIaaen and Liv Holm. She studied organic
chemistry at Norges Technical University College (NTH) in Trondheim, Norway. She completed her
Master of Science degree in 1955 in the laboratory of natural products chemist, Professor Nils Andreas
Sørensen at the Norwegian Institute of Science Technology, which in 1999 became the Norwegian
University of Science & Technology (NTNU). Her thesis was on carotenoids, a class of natural products
that although widely known had been only superficially studied. After obtaining her Master degree she
obtained a Styri fellowship and took the opportunity to spend a year working as a research fellow with
Professor László Zechmeister and his microbiologist colleagues Professors Kees van Niel and Roger
Stanier at the University of California, Berkeley. Working with carotenoids, and the personal mentorship
of Zechmeister, largely influenced the future direction of her career. Investigating the structures and
occurrence of carotenoids in nature became the intellectual passion to which the entirety of her
impressively productive academic career was devoted.
She married Arne Jensen on August 20, 1956; he was also an academic whose background was in civil
engineering. They had three children, Sjur, Vibeke, and Janicke Liaaen-Jensen, and eight grandchildren.
Until his passing in 2000, it was common for Synnøve to be accompanied by Arne at scientific
conferences. In 1962, Synnøve Liaaen-Jensen accepted a position as assistant professor of Chemistry at
the Norwegian Institute of Science Technology and was promoted in 1970 to become the first woman to
hold the rank of full professor at Norwegian Institute of Science Technology. In 1963, Synnøve earned
her doctorate, the first female dr. techn. in the NTH. The confidence of her colleagues in her leadership
is evidenced by her service as Chair of the Department of Organic Chemistry in the periods 1972-76 and
1985-88.
During her career, Synnove published 540 scientific contributions1 in peer reviewed journals with 170
co-authors. Science citation index records4 that 228 (from 1980 on) of these have been uniquely cited
3,496 times! Of some 600 or so naturally occurring carotenoids listed in the Carotenoids Handbook, her
group was responsible for the structure elucidation of more than 100 of these and made a significant
contribution to the characterization of many more. Her comprehensive chapter in the 1971 book,
Carotenoids edited by Otto Isler has had a lasting influence on the field of carotenoid chemistry, as has
the later six-volume series, Carotenoids, which, together with the Carotenoids Handbook, she co-edited
with George Britton and Hanspeter Pfander. Work on this project began in around 1992, and culminated
with the publication of Carotenoids; A Colourful History5 in 2017. This period of 25 years is fondly
remembered by George Britton and Hanspeter Pfander as a time of hard work with frequent intense,
stimulating and highly enjoyable editorial meetings. It was a time in which firm and lasting friendships
were formed.
At the instigation of Professor Sorensen, Synnøve, together with her husband, Arne, organized and
hosted an International Symposium on Carotenoids in Trondheim, in 1966. This successful meeting,
which attracted 53 attendees, became the first in the series of triennial International Carotenoid
Symposia that continues today. Synnove and Arne hosted the 10th International Symposium on
Carotenoids in Trondheim in 1993, this time with more than four times the number of participants.
Synnove was a central force in establishing this conference series and the International Carotenoid
Society which later came into being.
Synnøve was a dynamic leader whose professional contributions have been monumental. To her
students and coworkers she was always kind and encouraging and always ready to recognize their
accomplishments. Those who of us who came to know her professionally will always remember the
enthusiasm and excitement she brought to each meeting; she was often the one who held the lamp and
showed the way forward. She is deeply missed.
Those of you who know of Synnøve only through her scientific publications will probably enjoy her
personal insights and recollections from her career collected and published in Carotenoids: A Colourful
History.5 Her accounts of meetings and interactions with many of the giants of carotenoid chemistry,
including the Nobel laureate Paul Karrer, and other famous organic chemists, provide an interesting
glimpse into a great era of carotenoid chemistry.
Awards:
Founder of the Triennial International Symposium on Carotenoids, 1966-present
Member of the Steering Committee for the foundation of the International Carotenoid Society 1993-
1996
Member of The International Carotenoid Society (ICS), Fellowship bestowed in 2017.
First recipient of the ICS Otto Isler Award ‘for a lifetime of achievement in research in carotenoid
chemistry, and of dedicated service to the carotenoid field’. (2005).
ICS President’s Award ‘for editing, authoring and publishing the Carotenoids book series, and a lifetime
of dedicated service to the carotenoid field’. (2011).
Member of The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters since 1974
Elected to The Norwegian Academy of Sciences, 1983
Member of Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, 1988
Honorary Doctoral Degree from the University of Zurich, Switzerland in 1986.
Recipient Guldberg-Waage medal Norwegian Chemical Society, 1994.
Invested as Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav by King Harald in 2008, for her
scientific accomplishments and as a role model for women in science.
Prepared by John Landrum with assistance from George Britton
1 https://nbl.snl.no/Synnøve_Liaaen_Jensen
2 https://prabook.com/web/synn_ve.liaaen-jensen/472894
3 https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Synn%C3%B8ve+Liaaen-Jensen+&ia=web
4 Web of Science Core Collection
5 Carotenoids: A Colourful history, George Britton, Synnøve
