Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win Nobel Chemistry prize for asymmetric catalysis
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Henri Kagan of France and Kenso Soai of Japan have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on asymmetric catalysis.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences disclosed that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to French researcher Henri Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai for their pioneering studies in asymmetric catalysis. The announcement, made in Stockholm, coincided with the presentation of the Medicine Nobel to Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel and Karl Deisseroth, and the Physics Nobel to Francis Halzen. The Academy recalled that the youngest chemistry laureate to date was Frédéric Joliot, who was 35 when he received the award.
In celebration of the Nobel awards' 125th anniversary, the prize money has been increased by one million Swedish crowns, raising each category's endowment to twelve million crowns. Further Nobel laureates in literature, peace, and economic sciences will be revealed in the upcoming days.
How this was covered
- Coverage peaked at 31 outlets in a single hour
Why it matters
The award highlights breakthrough research in asymmetric catalysis, a key technology for producing many pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals.
How this story developed
- Oct 1 Nobel Prizes to be announced this week, with economics winners revealed on Oct. 12
- Oct 5 The cash component of each Nobel prize has been set at 12 million Swedish crowns.
- Oct 6 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences will announce the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday, following last year’s awards to quantum researchers.
- Oct 6 The Nobel Physics award is scheduled to be revealed at 11:45 today.
In this story
Related stories
7 in this thread