Kensō Soai

Kensō Soai
硤合 憲三
Born (1950-05-03) 3 May 1950 (age 76)
Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan
EducationUniversity of Tokyo (PhD)
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
WorkplacesTokyo University of Science
Teruaki Mukaiyama

Kensō Soai (硤合 憲三, Soai Kensō; born 3 May 1950) 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."

Biography

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). 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."

He is involved in asymmetric and enantioselective synthesis, asymmetric autocatalysis, and the origin of chirality. In 1995, Soai discovered a reaction with the chiral compound 5-pyrimidyl alkanol that produced almost exclusively one of the two mirror-image forms of a molecule as a product, mimicking a process found in living organisms. In 2003, he was able to demonstrate this reaction with nonchiral reactants. Specifically, the Soai reaction for alkylation of pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde with diisopropylzinc is named after him. In this reaction, both reactants, which are non-chiral, produce the chiral product pyrimidyl alcohol, which further induces that same chirality in subsequent catalytic cycles.

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). He retired as a professor in 2016.

Honors and awards

In its 2026 Nobel announcement, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences highlighted Soai's progression from his 1995 work on asymmetric autocatalysis to a 2003 reaction producing one of two possible mirror-image forms. It placed these results in the study of homochirality and the design of pharmaceutical synthesis. The prize money was shared equally with Henri B. Kagan.

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ Pluta, Werner (7 October 2026). "Chemienobelpreis für die Entdeckung nichtlinearer Effekte". heise online (in German). Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Professor's profile-in Japanese". 東京理科大学. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 Gibney, Elizabeth; Naddaf, Miryam; Pichon, Anne; Castelvecchi, Davide; Callaway, Ewen (7 October 2026). "Chemistry Nobel awarded for solving mystery of how 'handed' organic molecules can emerge". Nature. 658 (8136): 589–590. doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03093-0. PMID 42844442. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  6. ↑ "2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to France's Henri Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai". Le Monde. 7 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Geddes, Linda (7 October 2026). "Nobel prize in chemistry awarded for work on mirror-image molecules". The Guardian.
  8. 1 2 Otake, Tomoko. "Nobel winner Kenso Soai says he understood the significance of his research". Japan Times. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ The soai reaction and related topic. Modena: Edizioni Artestampa. 2012. ISBN 978-88-6462-130-2.
  12. ↑ "Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry". News On Japan. 7 October 2026. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Call for nominations for the chirality medal 2006". Chirality. 18: iii. 30 November 2005. doi:10.1002/chir.20244. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "CSJ Award 2010". csj.jp. September 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "Henri Kagan, Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry". BSS. 7 October 2026. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "Kenso Soai". rs.kagu.tus.ac.jp.
  17. ↑ "高砂香料国際賞「野依賞」". 公益社団法人 有機合成化学協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  18. ↑ "Japanischer Chemiker Kenso Soai erhält Nobelpreis für Chemie". Sumikai (in German). 7 October 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  19. ↑ 文化勲章・功労者の業績と略歴 2026年度. The Nikkei (in Japanese). 23 October 2026. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 – Press release". NobelPrize.org. 7 October 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.