University Chancellor Kaarle Hämeri accepted the portrait at the unveiling on 4th November. Friends and colleagues of Marja-Liisa Riekkola donated the portrait and it will be hung in the Chemicum building on Kumpula campus. The piece will be added to the university's portrait collection, which was started in 1640.
Marja-Liisa Riekkola was appointed professor of analytical chemistry in 1987, and she has supervised over 450 masters of analytical chemistry and 40 doctoral degrees. In 2007-2013 and 2018- she has held the post of vice-dean of the Faculty of Science. In her scientific work, she has focused on developing techniques for sample processing and analysis, such as solid-phase microextraction, liquid and gas chromatography, capillary electromigration methods, and field-flow fractionation, and applying them in studying e.g. the atmosphere and interactions between biomolecules.
Professor Riekkola has been involved and is still active in many academic duties, as well as national and international scientific committees, referee panels, and scientific associations. She has participated in referee panels and committees in European universities, the European Commission, and several scientific academies in European countries. Professor Riekkola has published nearly 400 scientific papers, two books, and contributed eight chapters to scientific books. She has received the Magnus Ehrnrooth chemistry award, the Emmanuel Merck chromatography prize, and the Tswett medal in chromatography.
Professor Marja-Liisa Riekkola is a member of The Finnish Society of Science and Letters and the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. She is an editor of Journal of Chromatography A, and a member of the editorial board of the series Journal of Chromatographic Science and Electrophoresis.
In 2013 and 2015, Professor Riekkola was listed among the 100 most influential persons in analytical chemistry, and in 2016 among the 50 top female scientists (Analytical Scientist Power Lists 2013, 2015, 2016). In an article published in 2020 (Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry), she was mentioned as a role model for female analytical chemists.