PhD Courses in Denmark

Welcome to Theoretical Foundations of Modern NMR Spectroscopy

Content:

The course follows the textbook by James Keeler (Understanding NMR Spectroscopy, 2nd Edition, ISBN: 978-0-470-74608-0).

The course consists of self-study modules studying the text book and the available lecture videos online. In addition, there will be two study-cafés (two-days each, one in Copenhagen, one on Aalborg, attendance in person at both study-cafés is mandatory), where participants and teachers meet, and participants will solve problems under the guidance of teacher

Program:

Course start 1.8.2025

1.8.2025-30.9.2025 Self-study

·       Textbook, Chapter 2 “Setting the scene”, plus introductory material by Kåre Teilum

·       Textbook, Chapter 3 “Energy Levels and NMR Spectra”, plus video by James Keeler (46 min)

·       Textbook Ch. 4 “The vector model”, supported by video by James Keeler (70 min)

·       Textbook Ch. 6 “The quantum mechanics of one spin”, supported by material by Kåre Teilum

·       Textbook Ch. 9 “Relaxation and the NOE”, supported by video by James Keeler (159 min)

Mandatory study café in Copenhagen: 1.10.-2.10.2025. The teachers of the first parts (Kåre Teilum, Anders Malmendal and Charlotte Gotfredsen) will each prepare exercises, problems, articles for their parts for ca ½ day. Students will work on the material under the guidance of the instructors.

1.10.2025-30.11.2025 Self-study

·       Textbook Ch. 5 “Fourier transformation and data processing”, supported by video by James Keeler (42 min)

·       Textbook Ch. 7 “Product Operators”, supported by video by James Keeler (131 min)

·       Textbook Ch. 8 “2D-NMR”, supported by video by James Keeler (94 min)

·       Textbook Ch. 11, “Coherence selection: phase cycling and field gradient pulses”, supported by video by James Keeler (127 min)

Mandatory study café in Aalborg: 4.-5.12.2025. The teachers of the second parts (Flemming Larsen, Thomas Vosegaard, Reinhard Wimmer) will each prepare exercises, problems, articles for their parts for ca ½ day. Students will work on the material under the guidance of the instructors.

Participants:

The course addresses PhD students who want to apply NMR spectroscopy in their projects, within e.g. synthetic organic chemistry, natural product research, forensic and pharmaceutical sciences, structural biology, metabolomics, material research or any other field where NMR can be applied.

Prerequisites: 

- basic knowledge of the appearance and interpretation of NMR spectra

- basic knowledge of chemical structures (organic chemistry)

Learning objectives: 

Participants will learn the basic physical principles behind NMR spectroscopy: nuclear spin, energy levels, the vector model, Fourier transformation, product operators, 2D-NMR, relaxation and coherence selection. After the course, participants will understand NMR pulse sequences and the appearance of NMR spectra. They will be able to select the correct experiments for their needs from literature and to adapt them to their requirements.

Evaluation:

Students deliver a detailed report about two of the problems solved during the study cafés – one from each study café, deadline 23.12.2025. Feedback will be given in January 2026.

Organizer: Prof. Reinhard Wimmer, Aalborg University, on behalf of DanNMR, the association of Danish NMR laboratories, https://www.dannmr.dk/.

Lecturers: Associate Professor Anders Malmendal (Roskilde University), Associate Professor Charlotte Gotfredsen (Technical University of Denmark), Principal Scientist Flemming Hofmann Larsen (LEO Pharma), Professor Kåre Teilum (Copenhagen University), Professor Reinhard Wimmer (Aalborg University), Professor Thomas Vosegaard (Aarhus University)

ECTS: 4.0

Time: 

Online 1 August 2025  

Copenhagen: 1-2 October 2025

Aalborg: 4-5 December 2025

Online 23 December 2025

Place: online, Copenhagen University, Aalborg University

Zip code: 9220

City: Aalborg

Maximal number of participants: 30

Deadline: 11 July 2025