(born 1950) is a Japanese

organic chemist Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

. He is a university lecturer in the Applied Chemistry Department of Tokyo University of Science. Soai studied at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

, where he received his Ph.D. in 1979 in

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the gen ...

under Teruaki Mukaiyama and was a fellow of the

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science The is an Independent Administrative Institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.JSPSweb page History The Japan Society f ...

. He conducted his postdoctoral studies with Ernest L. Eliel at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. In 1981, he became a lecturer at Tokyo University of Science, and was promoted to associate professor (1986) and full professor (1991).
Official university website He is involved in asymmetric and

enantioselective synthesis Enantioselective synthesis, also called asymmetric synthesis, is a form of chemical synthesis. It is defined by IUPAC as "a chemical reaction (or reaction sequence) in which one or more new elements of Chirality (chemistry), chirality are formed ...

, asymmetric

autocatalysis In chemistry, a chemical reaction is said to be autocatalytic if one of the reaction products is also a catalyst for the same reaction. Many forms of autocatalysis are recognized.Steinfeld J.I., Francisco J.S. and Hase W.L. ''Chemical Kinetics and ...

, origin of

chirality Chirality () is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is distinguishable fro ...

, The Soai reaction for alkylation of pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde with diisopropylzinc is named after him. Soai was a visiting professor to many universities such as the

ESPCI Paris ESPCI Paris (officially the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris, , ''The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution'') is a grande école founded in 1882 by the city of ...

(2001),

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a public research university located in Fukuoka, Japan, on the island of Kyushu. Founded in 1911 as the fourth Imperial University in Japan, it has been recognised as a leading institution of higher education and resear ...

(2005),

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

(2007-2010),

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

(2008), and

Jilin University Jilin University (JLU) is a public university in the city of Changchun, Jilin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. History Founded ...

(2010-2015).

Honors

* Inoue Prize (2000) * Chirality Medal (2005) * Honorary member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences (2006) * Science and Technology Prize from

MEXT The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2007) * Chemical Society of Japan Award (2010) * Japanese Purple Ribbon Medal (2012) * Doctor Honoris Causa,

University of Pannonia The University of Pannonia ( Hungarian ''Pannon Egyetem'', formerly known as ''Veszprémi Egyetem'') is a university with its main campus in Veszprém, Hungary. It was founded in 1949 and is organized in four faculties: Humanities, Engineering, ...

, Hungary, 2015

References

1950 births Living people Japanese chemists Stereochemists University of Tokyo alumni Scientists from Hiroshima Prefecture {{Japan-scientist-stub