Career
Aasen received his degree in engineering and a doctorate (dr ing) in organic chemistry from The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian Institute of Technology), Trondheim in 1964 and 1966, respectively. Aasen became a full professor in 1979 at the University of Tromsø, Department of Chemistry, and in 1983 at the Norwegian College of Agriculture, (Norges Landbrukshøgskole), Institute of Chemistry. He was an employee at UiT and Norges Landbrukshøgskole for two and five years, respectively.
Aasen returned to UiO, School of Pharmacy in 1988 as professor in his previous field
Arne Jørgen Aasen was appointed professor II in natural products chemistry at UiT, School of Pharmacy from 1996 to 2007. Arne Jørgen Aasen´s research areas include, among others, isolation, structural determination and syntheses of natural products, e.g. carotenoids, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, fatty acids, flavour constituents from tobacco, and determination of the absolute configuration of racemic drugs.
Aasen has had a number of research positions abroad. He was a research scientist for 2 ½ years with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in Melbourne, Australia.
Postdoctoral fellow and research associate for one year at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, Minnesota, United States of America.
Research scientist for five years at the Research Department of Swedish Tobacco Limited., Stockholm. He has also been visiting professor for one year at Atlantic Richfield Company Plant Cell Research Institute, Dublin, California, United States of America, and two shorter periods with Nycomed Salutar Incorporated., Sunnyvale, California, United States of America. Arne Jørgen Aasen was from 1979 to 1981 responsible for the establishment of a section for organic chemistry at UiT. During the period 1989 to 2002 Aasen was head of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, UiO. Aasen has participated in about twenty lawsuits dealing with drugs and patent infringements either as expert judge of Borgarting Court of Appeal, the District Courts of Asker and Bærum, Follo and Oslo, or an expert for one of the parties in Norway and United States of America. He has since 2000 been consultant for the Norwegian registries of drugs used in human and veterinary medicine. Member, since 1988, of the The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, Trondheim, Norway.
Member, since 2000, of the International Advisory Board, Bulletin of The Chemical Society of Ethiopia.