TL;DR
On October 7, 2026, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
Event overview
On October 7, 2026 (local time), the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Per Xinhua and People's Daily, the prize was shared by French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
Key facts
- Prize: the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared by two laureates (per Xinhua and People's Daily).
- Announcement: October 7, 2026 (local time), by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (per Xinhua).
- Laureates: French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai (per Xinhua).
- Citation: for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis (per Xinhua).
- Context: the Academy noted that molecules such as amino acids exist in two mirror-image forms, and the field concerns catalytic mechanisms in enantioselective synthesis (per Xinhua).
Official sources
- Xinhua (October 8, 2026): Daily World Briefing: Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- People's Daily International (October 8, 2026): Two scientists win the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry