Kagan and Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

At the press conference held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry were announced.

Kagan and Soai won the award for their contributions to "the discovery of nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis."

Studies in this field are especially important in the production of drugs and biologically active molecules.

Who are Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai?

French chemist Henri B. Kagan is known for his work in the fields of organic and organometallic chemistry, asymmetric synthesis, and asymmetric catalysis.

Born in France in 1930, Kagan studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris and received his doctorate from the College de France in 1960.

Organic chemist Kenso Soai was born in 1950 in Hiroshima, Japan. Soai graduated from Tokyo University and received his doctorate in 1979.

About the Nobel Prizes

The awards given by the Nobel Foundation, which was established on June 29, 1900, after the death of the Swedish Alfred Nobel, to those who served humanity, are considered the most prestigious awards in the world.

Nobel Prizes are given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institute and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to the individuals or organizations deemed to be the most successful in 5 branches: physics, chemistry, literature, peace and medicine.

In addition, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded for the first time in 1969, when the Swedish Central Bank decided in 1968 to award an award in economics in memory of Alfred Nobel.

Nobel Prizes are delivered to their owners at a ceremony held every year on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.

The awards have been given since 1901. Most of the cases where awards were not given occurred during the First and Second World Wars. The award ceremonies could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 epidemic.