Kensō Soai
Kensō Soai | |
|---|---|
硤合 憲三 | |
| Born | 3 May 1950 Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan |
| Education | University of Tokyo (PhD) |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Workplaces | Tokyo University of Science |
| Teruaki Mukaiyama | |
Kensō Soai (硤合 憲三, Soai Kensō; born 3 May 1950)[1] is a Japanese organic chemist, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Applied Chemistry at Tokyo University of Science.
In 2026, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Henri B. Kagan "for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis."
Career
[edit]Soai studied at the University of Tokyo, where he received his Ph.D. in 1979 in organic synthesis under Teruaki Mukaiyama and was a fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He conducted his postdoctoral studies with Ernest L. Eliel at the University of North Carolina. In 1981, he became a lecturer at Tokyo University of Science, and was promoted to associate professor (1986) and full professor (1991).[2] In 2026, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Henri B. Kagan "for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis." [3]
He is involved in asymmetric and enantioselective synthesis, asymmetric autocatalysis, and the origin of chirality.[4] In 2003, Soai found a reaction that produced almost exclusively one of the two mirror-image forms of a molecule as a product; mimicking a process found in living organisms.[5][6] The Soai reaction for alkylation of pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde with diisopropylzinc is named after him.[7][8][9]
Soai was a visiting professor at several universities such as the ESPCI Paris (2001), Kyushu University (2005), Waseda University (2007–2010), University of Strasbourg (2008), and Jilin University (2010–2015).[2]
Publications
[edit]- Mukaiyama, Teruaki; Soai, Kenso; Sato, Toshio; Shimizu, Hisashi; Suzuki, Keisuke (1979). "Enantioface-differentiating (asymmetric) addition of alkyllithium and dialkylmagnesium to aldehydes by using (2S,2'S)-2-hydroxymethyl-1-[(1-alkylpyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl]pyrrolidines as chiral ligands". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 101 (6). American Chemical Society (ACS): 1455–1460. Bibcode:1979JAChS.101.1455M. doi:10.1021/ja00500a015. ISSN 0002-7863.
- Soai, Kenso; Shibata, Takanori; Morioka, Hiroshi; Choji, Kaori (1995). "Asymmetric autocatalysis and amplification of enantiomeric excess of a chiral molecule". Nature. 378 (6559): 767–768. Bibcode:1995Natur.378..767S. doi:10.1038/378767a0. ISSN 0028-0836. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- Sato, Itaru; Urabe, Hiroki; Ishiguro, Saori; Shibata, Takanori; Soai, Kenso (20 January 2003). "Amplification of Chirality from Extremely Low to Greater than 99.5 % ee by Asymmetric Autocatalysis". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 42 (3): 315–317. Bibcode:2003ACIE...42..315S. doi:10.1002/anie.200390105. ISSN 1433-7851. PMID 12548688. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
Honors
[edit]- Inoue Prize (2000)[10]
- Chirality Medal (2005)[11]
- Honorary member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences (2006)[2]
- Science and Technology Prize from MEXT, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2007)[2]
- Chemical Society of Japan Award (2010)[12]
- Japanese Purple Ribbon Medal (2012)[13]
- Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Pannonia, Hungary (2015)[2]
- Japan Academy Prize (2025)[14]
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2026)[3]
References
[edit]- Kensō Soai on Nobelprize.org
- ↑ Pluta, Werner (7 October 2026). "Chemienobelpreis für die Entdeckung nichtlinearer Effekte". heise online (in German). Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Professor's profile-in Japanese". 東京理科大学. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- 1 2 "Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- ↑ Durrani, Jamie (7 October 2026). "Explainer: what are autocatalysis and non-linear effects and why have they won the 2026 Nobel prize in chemistry?". Chemistry World.
- ↑ "2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to France's Henri Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai". Le Monde. 7 October 2026.
- ↑ Geddes, Linda (7 October 2026). "Nobel prize in chemistry awarded for work on mirror-image molecules". The Guardian.
- ↑ Athavale, Soumitra V.; Simon, Adam; Houk, Kendall N.; Denmark, Scott E. (2020). "Demystifying the asymmetry-amplifying, autocatalytic behaviour of the Soai reaction through structural, mechanistic and computational studies". Nature Chemistry. 12 (4): 412–423. Bibcode:2020NatCh..12..412A. doi:10.1038/s41557-020-0421-8. ISSN 1755-4330. PMC 7117993. PMID 32203445.
- ↑ Soai, Kenso (2022). "The Soai reaction and its implications with the life's characteristic features of self-replication and homochirality". Tetrahedron. 124 133017. doi:10.1016/j.tet.2022.133017. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- ↑ The soai reaction and related topic. Modena: Edizioni Artestampa. 2012. ISBN 978-88-6462-130-2.
- ↑ "Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry". News On Japan. 7 October 2026. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- ↑ "Call for nominations for the chirality medal 2006". Chirality. 18: iii. 30 November 2005. doi:10.1002/chir.20244. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ↑ "CSJ AWARD 2010". csj.jp. September 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ↑ "Henri Kagan, Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry". BSS. 7 October 2026. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
- ↑ "Japanischer Chemiker Kenso Soai erhält Nobelpreis für Chemie". Sumikai (in German). 7 October 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
