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Ryoji Noyori, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and
outside director of Takasago, gave a commemorative speech at a
special event held at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center on
November 10 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Symposium on
the Chemistry of Terpenes, Essential Oils, and Aromatics (TEAC).
TEAC has been held annually since 1957 as a special-interest meeting
of The Chemical Society of Japan. The symposium was established by
Takasago's then-president Teikichi Hiraizumi with the assistance of
several university professors. It addresses three fields: Chemistry
on Flavor and Fragrance, the chemistry and synthesis of terpenes,
and the composition and chemical structure of essential oils.
High school students, who will take the helm of Japanese science
and technology in the future, were invited to the lecture, "Science
and Technology for Future Generations," upon Professor Noyori's
request, and the lecture hall was filled to its 1,000-seat capacity.
As a boy, Noyori was deeply impressed when Hideki Yukawa won the
1949 Nobel Prize in Physics. This started him on the path of
becoming a researcher, leading him eventually to develop ideas that
forged a path forward in chemical synthesis for the next century. In
conjunction with this lecture, an aroma chemical-related displays
were presented in the lobby, which included posters from Takasago
explaining optically active aroma chemicals, and provided 1-menthol
and d-menthol samples. Professor Noyori touched upon the background
of how industrial production of 1-menthol was achieved, a topic of
great interest to the many in attendance.
In a different part of the program, in the area of the chemistry
and synthesis of terpenes, the lecture by Daisuke Igarashi of
Takasago's Fine Chemicals Laboratory, " Study on Asymmetric
Hydrogenation in Biphasic System: Evaluation with
2-methyl-2-alkenoic acid," was selected as "Best Presentation" and
Igarashi was presented with an award certificate and prize.
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