
Discoverers of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis honored by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
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The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed in several categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees in recognition of academic, cultural, or scientific advances.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
The award, announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, is the third of six Nobel awards to be handed out this year.
Earlier this week, German researchers Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, together with American Karl Deisseroth, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Physics Nobel Prize then went to Belgian-American researcher Francis Halzen.
The chemistry prize will be followed by the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, and concludes with the economic sciences award on Monday. The economics award is the only Nobel not established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly won by French chemist Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenzo Kipatsu for their discovery of nonlinear effects and autocatalytic phenomena in asymmetric organic synthesis. The two winners will share a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor equally, and the award ceremony is scheduled to be held on December 10.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for their discoveries in nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. This article also reviews the achievements and scientific research history of previous Nobel Prize winners in chemistry.

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