Announcement from The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, JapanRyoji Noyori Prize sponsored by Takasago International Corporationand administered by The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, JapanRyoji Noyori Prize , sponsored by Takasago

International Corporation, was established in 2002 by
The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan(SSOCJ) in commemoration of Professor Ryoji
Noyori's winning of the 2001 Nobel Prize inChemistry as well as the 60th anniversary of SSOCJ.
The purpose of the Prize is to recognize outstanding
contributions to research in asymmetric syntheticchemistry defined in its broadest sense.
The Prize, which consists of a certificate, a medallion,
and $10,000, is bestowed every year to a recipient meetingthe above mentioned criteria. The International Prize
Committee selects a recipient, and the recipient shalldeliver a prize lecture at the annual general meetingof SSOCJ at which the Prize will be presented.

The Winner of the Prize for the award year 2023 isKenso Soai, Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University ofScience, Japan.

Professor Soai made a groundbreaking discovery in

the realm of chirality by identifying the first instanceof asymmetric autocatalysis involving 5-pyrimidylalkanol in the enantioselective addition of
diisopropylzinc to pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde, called
as the Soai reaction. Asymmetric autocatalysis is areaction in which a chiral product serves as a catalyst
for its own production. The Soai reaction exhibits theremarkable capability to significantly enhance theenantiomeric excess of the initial asymmetricautocatalyst, transforming it into a near-enantiopure
compound during the consecutive asymmetricautocatalysis. Furthermore, his research delved into
the origins of chirality, using various chiral triggers
within the Soai reaction to relate to the chirality ofhighly enantioenriched organiccompounds. The Soai reaction
was found to be triggered bydiverse factors, including chiralminerals, circularly polarized light,chiral crystals composed ofachiral compounds like g-glycine
and isotope chirality. Most
astonishingly, the Soai reaction
demonstrated the ability toachieve spontaneous absoluteasymmetric synthesis without any
external chiral factors. Thus, Professor Soai has madeinvaluable contributions to the study of chirality.
The past recipients:
Henri B. Kagan(2002)
Dieter Seebach(2004)
David A. Evans (2006)
Andreas Pfaltz(2008)
Eric N. Jacobsen (2010)
Masakatsu Shibasaki (2012)
Dieter Enders(2014)
Keiji Maruoka(2016)
Yoshito Kishi(2018)
Tsuneo Imamoto (2020)
Gregory C. Fu(2022)

Gilbert Stork
Tsutomu Katsuki
Tamio Hayashi
Yoshio Okamoto
Hisashi Yamamoto
Barry M. Trost
Larry E. Overman
David W. MacMillan
Scott E. Denmark
Erick M. Carreira(2003)(2005)(2007)(2009)(2011)(2013)(2015)(2017)(2019)(2021)The members of the International Prize
Committee for the award year 2023:
Takeshi Sugai (Chairman)
Gregory C. Fu

Seijiro Matsubara
Takashi Ooi

Erick M. CarreiraDavid W. MacMillan
Kyoko Nozaki
Ken Tanaka

Call for Nominations for the Award Year 2024
(Deadline: May 1, 2024)
Any individual may nominate one individual
for the award year 2024 by May 1, 2024.
The nomination form can be downloaded fromthe SSOCJ web site at https://www.ssocj.jp/en/
The documents are retained on file for three
award years.

Preferred method of submittal is by e-mailattachment of the form.
e-mail address: support@ssocj.or.jp
However, submittal by express or conventional
mail is also acceptable.

The Society ofSynthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan
1-5 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo,
101-0062 Japan
TEL. +81-3-3292-7621 FAX. +81-3-3292-7622
www.ssocj.jp

Nissay Aroma Square 17F
5-37-1 Kamata, Ota-Ku, Tokyo, 144-8721 Japan
TEL.+81-3-5744-0511 FAX. +81-3-5744-0512
www.takasago.com