is a Japanese

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and professor of

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a public research university located in Fukuoka, Japan, on the island of Kyushu. Founded in 1911 as the fourth Imperial University in Japan, it has been recognised as a leading institution of higher education and resear ...

, and emeritus professor.

Early life

Shinkai was born in

Fukuoka prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

, Japan, in 1944. He completed his B.S. in 1967 and Ph.D. in 1972 from

Career and research

He is known for his pioneering research in

molecular self-assembly In chemistry and materials science, molecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly: intermolecular and intramolec ...

. Molecular self-assembly is the assembly of molecules without guidance or management from an outside source. His main field of expertise and research interests are Host Guest Chemistry,

Molecular Recognition Supramolecular chemistry refers to the branch of chemistry concerning Chemical species, chemical systems composed of a integer, discrete number of molecules. The strength of the forces responsible for spatial organization of the system range from w ...

Liquid Crystals Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a common direction as i ...

/Organic Gelators, Sugar Sensing/Sugar-Based

Combinatorial Chemistry Combinatorial chemistry comprises chemical synthesis, chemical synthetic methods that make it possible to prepare a large number (tens to thousands or even millions) of compounds in a single process. These compound library, compound libraries can b ...

, Boronic-acids, Polysaccharide-Polynucleotide Interactions, Sol-Gel Transcription and Inorganic Combinatorial Chemistry. His most recent research is related to chiral discrimination using AIE. In 1979 he published the first light driven

molecular machine Molecular machines are a class of molecules typically described as an assembly of a discrete number of molecular components intended to produce mechanical movements in response to specific stimuli, mimicking macromolecular devices such as switch ...

in Tetrahedron Letters. To date (July 2019) he has published over 1024 original paper and 219 reviews and books.

Recognition

* The Chemical Society of Japan Progress Award (1978) * Izatt-Christensen International Award in (1998) * Becker Lecture Award (1999) * Vielberth Lectureship Award (2002) * The Chemical Society of Japan Award (2003) * Western Japan Culture Prize (2004) *

Toray is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered on technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry. Its founding business areas were fibers and textiles, ...

Science and Technology Prize (2006) *

Daiwa Adrian Prize This Daiwa Adrian Prize is an award given by The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, a UK charity, to scientists who have made significant achievements in science through Anglo-Japanese collaborative research. Prizes are awarded every third year and ...

(2013) *

Clarivate Citation Laureates Clarivate Citation Laureates, formerly Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates, is a list of candidates considered likely to win the Nobel Prize in their respective field. The candidates are so named based on the citation impact of their published rese ...

(2013)
Molecular Sensors & Molecular Logic Gates
(MSMLG) Award (2014) * Received the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

from the Emperor of Japan in 2017. * Received the

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

from the Japanese Government in 2018.

References

External links

In celebration of Seiji Shinkai's 70th Birthday
from the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

Interview with Seiji Shinkai
in Chemical Communications {{DEFAULTSORT:Shinkai, Seiji 1944 births Japanese chemists Living people Kyushu University alumni Academic staff of Kyushu University Persons of Cultural Merit Scientists from Fukuoka Prefecture