Plenary Lecture
Prof. Roald HoffmannThe Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry 1981
(Cornell University, U.S.A.)
Prof. Roald Hoffmann is a chemist and writer. He has taught his colleagues how to think about electrons influencing molecular structure and reactivity. He was awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Dr. Ken-ichi Fukui "for their theories, developed independently, concerning the course of chemical reactions“.
Invited Lectures
Prof. Yasuhiro Iwasawa
(The University of Tokyo, Japan)
Prof. Iwasawa's research interests are devoted to catalyst surface design, in situ characterization, oxide surfaces by SPM, time-resolved XAFS, etc. The Iwasawa group is leading the world in analyzing catalyst structures on a real-time basis under operating conditions. He was the former President of the Catalysis Society of Japan and also the former President of the Surface Science Society of Japan, and now Senior Vice-President of the Chemical Society of Japan.
Emeritus Prof. Bernard Witholt
(Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland)
Prof. Witholt co-founded and led the Groningen Biotechnology Center and the Zernike Science Park in the 1980s. From 1992 to 2006 he chaired the ETH Institute of Biotechnology in Zurich.
Today he works with various small biotech companies. His research interests focus on the
application of microbial whole cell transformations of organic compounds in nonpolar solvents.
Dr. Shin-ichiro Tawaki
(Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., Japan)
Dr. Tawaki is currently the Director of the Biocatalysis Group belonging to the Catalysis Science Laboratory of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. His research interests include the development of innovative biocatalytic production processes, leading to the utilization of non-fossil resources and the creation of advanced chemicals.
Commemorative Lectures
Plenary Lecture
Emeritus Prof. Henri B. KaganThe Wolf Prize Laureate in Chemistry 2001
(Université Paris-Sud, France)
Prof. Kagan has contributed broadly to develop concept and synthetic approaches in the field of chirality. He introduced the concept of C2 symmetric diphosphines and was a pioneer in catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation. He described the nonlinear effects in asymmetric catalysis. He also introduced samarium diiodide in organic chemistry.
Invited Lectures
Prof. Masakatsu Shibasaki
(The University of Tokyo, Japan)
Prof. Shibasaki is one of the world leaders in the field of asymmetric catalysis. He developed the concept of two-center asymmetric catalysis which is of great interest to the chemical community and which has found widespread application in the synthesis of pharmaceutical relevant products.
Dr. Robert J. Farrauto
(BASF Catalysts LLC, U.S.A.)
Dr. Farrauto is one of the early developers of catalysts for automotive emission control.
His research team developed and commercialized the first non-precious metal catalyst diesel oxidation catalyst. He currently manages a team of scientists and engineers developing catalyst technology for the hydrogen economy.
Prof. Kyriacos C. Nicolaou
(The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, U.S.A.)
Prof. Nicolaou’s research interests focus on chemical synthesis and chemical biology with emphasis on biologically active natural and designed molecules such as antibiotics, antitumor agents and marine biotoxins.
Prof. Barry M. Trost
(Stanford University, U.S.A.)
Prof. Trost’s work has been characterized by a very high order of imagination, innovation and scholarship. He has ranged over the entire field of organic synthesis, particularly emphasizing the extraordinary novel methodology and the impact of such methodology on strategic approaches to bioactive targets.
Prof. Ei-ichi Negishi
(Purdue University, U.S.A.)
Prof. Negishi is a pioneer in the area of transition metal-catalyzed organic synthesis.
He discovered or codiscovered a number of reactions for C-C bond formation, notably (a) Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling with organometals containing Al, B, Zn, and Zr (1976-1978), (b) Zr-catalyzed alkyne carboalumination (1978), and (c) Zr-catalyzed asymmetric
carboalumination of alkenes (ZACA reaction, 1995).