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Congratulations to Professor Ryoji Noyori on His 70th Birthday

2008; Wiley; Volume: 3; Issue: 8-9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/asia.200800263

1861-4728

Hisashi Yamamoto,

Oxidative Organic Chemistry Reactions

The 70th birthday is a special birthday in Asian countries. Most of the birthday celebrations of 60 (kanreki), 77 (kijyu), 80 (sanjyu), 88 (beijyu), 90 (sotsujyu), and 99 (hakujyu) years emanated from simple mathematics or original Chinese characters, but the 70th came from the beautiful poem of the famous Chinese poet, Pu Du, who lived in Chéng dū (the area unfortunately recently hit by the severe earthquake) for 4–5 years.1 Professor Ryoji Noyori The Winding River by Pu Du (Tang Dynasty) Kindly and beautifully translated by Professor Xu Yuanchong (1 ). I sincerely thank Professor Zhangjie Shi of Peking, University for the assistance. Back from the court from day to day, I pawn spring gown. To get drunk by the riverside where I go down. In every wine shop I have a debt to pay; It’s rare to live to seventy since olden day. Deeper and deeper amid flowers go butterflies; Slowly and slowly on water skim dragonflies. I will enjoy the present with those on the wing, Do not let pass away any delightful thing. I believe the 70th birthday is even more special for Professor Noyori. Only a few gifted individuals can achieve this special birthday after fulfilling their lifetime dreams. It was over 40 years ago that I first met him at Kyoto University. At that time, he was a young assistant professor on the newly formed research team of Professor Hitosi Nozaki, where I was an undergraduate student. He walked very fast, thought deeply, and loved endless discussions of chemistry. He was so powerful and energetic and full of confidence in what he was doing; amazingly he clearly knew what he wanted to pursue in the future. The young Professor Noyori even at age 28 told us: “My dream is to create a single catalyst, which is powerful and general enough for broad use in numerous organic syntheses”. How amazing it is that he realized this dream of his young days 20 years later! It is interesting to know that he loves “sumo”. Sumo is Japanese wrestling, but in sharp contrast to other forms of wrestling in the world, a match in this sport often finishes within 10 seconds. Indeed, a sumo wrestler is expected to use 100 % of his strength and power within those 10 seconds. The Japanese believe that this fully represents the epitome of life! Certainly Professor Noyori is a typical Japanese person and certainly gives his full effort to whatever subject he is working on. Indeed, he sometimes told me that my chemistry is foolishly simple. He, however, knows how to use all his concentration on the issue presented to him. This is a truly exceptional ability, and I believe it is this outstanding asset which made it possible for him to later create such a brilliant catalyst. His famous book is titled “Jinsei wa ito wo koete”. I interpret this to mean that his life has not been one of his own intentions. Although he has maintained his dream of a catalyst consistently throughout his lifetime, his professional positions came to him without planning on his own part. Surprisingly, he received the proper job offer just at the proper moment! His invitations came from unexpected sources and he always considered such offers quite seriously. This is really remarkable, but I have to say it is also very Japanese. This is also a feature of his science, which is simple and straightforward. I would like to conclude this simple tribute to Professor Noyori with my personal warm and heartfelt thanks and congratulations. 1 Hisashi Yamamoto, Member of the International Advisory Board, Chemistry—An Asian Journal