Laureates Henri Kagan (France) and Kenso Soai (Japan) appear on screen as the announcement is made. (AFP Photo)
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Oct. 7 for their efforts to resolve mysterious mirror images in chemical molecules.
“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously,” Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said in a news release. “The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular.”
The duo’s discoveries, the news release said, “have been decisive for chemists who design reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals.”
Kagan, 95 years old and born in France, is affiliated with Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, and Soai, born in Japan, with the Tokyo University of Science.
Soai said he was shopping near his home when he was reached by the Nobel committee.
The so-called “Soai reaction” is named for the scientist’s experiment.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winner in Stockholm.
Last year, three scientists won the chemistry Nobel for their development of new molecular structures that can trap vast quantities of gas inside, laying the groundwork to potentially suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere or harvest moisture from desert environments.
The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, a small group of laureates or an organization.
