In the 1970s, when Shirakawa was an assistant at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, one of his students added 1,000 times too much catalyst during a simple experiment to synthesize an organic polymer. What resulted was a thin, silvery film, which normally should not have formed. Shirakawa, whose own research was aimed at making organic polymers conductive, began looking at the properties of this film. His research came to the attention of Alan MacDiarmid, who invited him to come to the United States. Alan Heeger joined the team, and together the group began joint research into the area that won them the prize.
Many Japanese researchers are active in the field of conductive plastics today.
This is in large part due to the achievements of Shirakawa, who established a laboratory at the University of Tsukuba, steadfastly devoted himself to basic research, and produced steady results. For a moment Shirakawa seemed startled, but he quickly broke into a smile. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.