The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai with the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on October 7, 2026, in Stockholm, Sweden. Their award-winning contributions focus on non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, highlighted their work in a news release, stating, “They have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously.” This discovery is pivotal for chemists designing reactions for pharmaceuticals.
Kagan, from France, is affiliated with Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, while Soai, at 95 years of age, is from Japan and linked to the Tokyo University of Science. The “Soai reaction” owes its name to Soai’s experiment.
The announcement comes amidst a week of Nobel Prize recognitions, including the Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded earlier in the week for a light-based brain study tool and the Prize in Physics for research into neutrinos. The Nobel Prize in Literature is scheduled for Thursday, with the Peace Prize on Friday. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced the following Monday.
This year’s Nobel Prize comes with a financial reward of 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to approximately $1.2 million.