# Hannu Häkkinen
**Hannu Häkkinen** is a Finnish computational nanoscientist.[1](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf) According to a 2008 PNAS study, he is known for the theory of ligand-protected gold clusters as superatoms, in which the electrons of a nanometer-scale gold core fill shells exactly as those of an atom do.[2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18599443/) From 2022 he has also served as vice dean for research in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science.[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction)
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962[1](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf) |
| Position | Professor of computational nanoscience, University of Jyväskylä, since 2007; vice dean for research from 2022[1](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf) • [3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction) |
| Signature work | "A unified view of ligand-protected gold clusters as superatom complexes", *PNAS*, 2008[2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18599443/) |
| Major grant | ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euros over five years, "Dynamic Nanocluster – Biomolecule Interfaces"[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction) |
| Learned society | Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, member since 2015[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction) |
## Education and career
Häkkinen took his master of science in physics at the University of Jyväskylä in 1988 and his doctorate in physics there in 1991.[1](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf)
He became professor of computational nanoscience at the University of Jyväskylä in 2007, in a joint appointment across the Physics and Chemistry departments.[1](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf) He was Academy Professor of the Academy of Finland from 2016 to 2020.[1](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf) Since 2022 he has been vice dean for research in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science.[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction)
## Research
His group at the JYU Nanoscience Center investigates the electronic, optical, magnetic, chemical, and catalytic properties of bare, supported, and ligand-protected metal nanoparticles, molecule–metal interfaces, carbon nanotubes and graphene, and hybrids of metal nanoparticles with viruses.[5](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/) The working tools are, more recently, computational methods combining machine learning with simulation.[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction)
A recurring theme is how organic thiolate ligands bond to gold. In 2006 Häkkinen and a co-author proposed the "divide and protect" bonding motif, in which a 38-atom gold cluster holds a central metallic core of 14 gold atoms surrounded by a protective layer of 24 gold atoms bound to sulfur; total-structure determinations later confirmed the structure.[4](https://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/gold-nanoclusters.htm) His 2012 review ["The gold–sulfur interface at the nanoscale"](https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1352) in *Nature Chemistry* drew these threads together, describing thiolate-protected gold surfaces and interfaces as archetypal nanoscience systems whose nanometer-scale understanding underpins applications from site-specific bioconjugate labeling and sensing to drug delivery, molecular recognition, molecular electronics, and gold nanoparticle catalysis.[6](https://ecc.isc.ac/showJournal/10193/243286/2178122)
## Representative work
The 2008 PNAS paper ["A unified view of ligand-protected gold clusters as superatom complexes"](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801001105) gave the field its unifying electronic picture. From large-scale density functional theory calculations on structurally characterized compounds, including the 102-atom all-thiolate-protected cluster Au102(p-MBA)44, the paper concluded that the exceptional stability of these clusters is best described by a "noble-gas superatom" analogy: electrons close shells at counts of 8, 34, and 58, each closing producing an enhanced [HOMO–LUMO gap](https://www.edgepedia.org/homo-lumo-gap) (energy gap between highest occupied and lowest unoccupied electron levels) in the passivated compound, just as filled shells make noble gases inert.[2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18599443/) • [7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2442568/) The same analysis predicted shell closures of about 15 electrons for Au44(SR)28− and about 27 electrons for Au75(SR)40, compositions whose total structures were then undetermined.[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2442568/)
## Recent work (2024–2026)
In November 2024 his group reported a machine learning methodology, built on graph theory and neural networks, that predicts the most favorable binding sites of gold nanoparticles on five common human blood proteins: serum albumin, apolipoprotein E, immunoglobulin E, immunoglobulin G, and fibrinogen.[8](https://phys.org/news/2024-11-machine-supercomputer-simulations-interactions-gold.html) A companion 2024 paper in *Bioconjugate Chemistry* reported the rational design of targeted gold nanoclusters with high affinity to the integrin αvβ3 receptor for combination cancer therapy.[9](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1065193) Häkkinen noted that the machine learning methodology lets the group study how drug-carrying nanoparticles interact with blood proteins and how those interactions change drug-carrier efficacy.[8](https://phys.org/news/2024-11-machine-supercomputer-simulations-interactions-gold.html)
Work since then has extended the computational toolkit: 2025 outputs include AMBER-compatible force fields for NHC-protected gold nanoclusters and water-soluble clickable Au13 nanoclusters, and 2026 outputs include "A Golden Fullerene Encapsulating Schmid Gold" and "Machine Learning-Driven Insights Into the Self-Assembly of Gold–Thiolate Nanoclusters".[10](https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Person/4598795?lang=en_GB)
## Honors and funding
The [European Research Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-research-council) awarded him a five-year Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euros for the project "Dynamic Nanocluster – Biomolecule Interfaces", aimed at metal nanoparticles of only a few nanometers and at computational methods combining machine learning with simulation for nanomedicine.[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction) He has been a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters since 2015.[3](https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction) In 2008 he founded the International Symposium on Monolayer-protected Clusters (ISMPC), with early meetings in [Jyväskylä](https://www.edgepedia.org/jyvaskyla) (2008 and 2011) and Pingree Park, Colorado (2013).[5](https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/)
## References
1. Curriculum Vitae, Hannu Häkkinen, University of Jyväskylä. https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/hakkinen_CV.pdf
2. "A unified view of ligand-protected gold clusters as superatom complexes", *PNAS* 105(27):9157-62, 2008 (PubMed record). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18599443/
3. "University of Jyväskylä receives ERC Advanced Grant of €2.5M euros for research on the interaction of nanoparticles and biomolecules". https://www.jyu.fi/en/news/university-of-jyvaskyla-receives-erc-advanced-grant-for-eu25m-euros-for-research-on-the-interaction
4. "Divide and Protect: Study Reveals Principles Behind Stability and Electronic Properties of Gold Nanoclusters", Georgia Tech Research News. https://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/gold-nanoclusters.htm
5. Hannu Häkkinen, personal homepage, University of Jyväskylä. https://users.jyu.fi/~hahakkin/
6. "The gold–sulfur interface at the nanoscale", *Nature Chemistry* 4, 443–455 (2012), record. https://ecc.isc.ac/showJournal/10193/243286/2178122
7. "A unified view of ligand-protected gold clusters as superatom complexes", *PNAS* full text (PMC). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2442568/
8. "Machine learning and supercomputer simulations predict interactions between gold nanoparticles and blood proteins", phys.org, November 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-machine-supercomputer-simulations-interactions-gold.html
9. "Machine learning and supercomputer simulations help researchers to predict interactions between gold nanoparticles and blood proteins", EurekAlert. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1065193
10. Hannu Häkkinen, Research portal (Converis), University of Jyväskylä. https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Person/4598795?lang=en_GB
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Researchers in materials science and nanotechnology › Nanomaterials and nanostructures*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
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