Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026: Who Received the Honorary Award

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to French chemist Henri Kagan of the University of Paris-Sud and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai of the Tokyo University of Science for their discoveries of nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

Scientists have been studying chemical asymmetry, a phenomenon in which some molecules exist in two forms that are mirror images of each other. Such molecules are called chiral.

One example is amino acids. They can have two mirror images, but living organisms only use one of them. Why one form has emerged in nature so favorably over the other has long been a major question for chemists.

Kagan and Soai investigated the mechanisms that help chemical reactions “choose” between two mirror forms. Their work concerned nonlinear effects and autocatalytic processes in asymmetric organic synthesis.

The Nobel Committee noted that their discoveries helped to find an explanation for the origin of chemical asymmetry.

It was previously reported that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to physicist Francis Galzen. He was recognized for his key contributions to the creation of the IceCube neutrino observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

In addition, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel. The scientists were recognized for their discovery of light-gated ion channels and the development of optogenetics.

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