Professor Eric N. Jacobsen, of Harvard University's chemistry and chemical biology department, has been awarded the 2010 Ryoji Noyori Prize, which was established in 2002 by The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan and is sponsored by Takasago International Corp. (Tokyo). The award recognizes outstanding contributions to research in asymmetric synthetic chemistry, and Jacobsen’s contributions include chiral salen-based catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation of simple olefins, as well as effective new catalysts for aziridnation, Diels-Alder, conjugate addition, hydrocyanation, and epoxide ring-opening reactions. He also pioneered the use of hydrogen-bonding catalysts in asymmetric synthesis.
