Professor Kenso Soai of the Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science Division I, Tokyo University of Science (TUS) has been elected as an Honorary Member of Italy's Modena National Academy of Science, Letters and Arts. Professor Soai's membership was formally decided on October 18th, following approval by the Italian Minister for Cultural Heritage.
Professor Soai specializes in research on asymmetrical autocatalytic reaction in the field of organic chemistry. This latest honor comes in recognition of his discovery of "asymmetrical automultiplication reaction", a reaction in which chiral products act as catalysts for their own production. The process is an automultiplication of chiral compounds without the assistance of any other chiral compound. Professor Soai, the first Japanese national to be elected as an Honorary Member, had already been awarded the Medal of the Modena National Academy of Science, Letters and Arts in 2003.
The Modena National Academy of Science, Letters and Arts, established in the Duchy of Modena (Italy) in 1683, is a scientific body consisting of more than 40 Members and around 30 Honorary Members.
