Nagoya University Emeritus Professor Hisashi Yamamoto has been selected to receive the 2018 Person of Cultural Merit, according to an announcement by the Japanese government on October 26, 2018.
The Persons of Cultural Merit, one of the nation’s highest honors second only to the Order of Culture, is awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to the development and enrichment of culture in Japan. Dr. Yamamoto has been engaged in the research of catalysts that activate reactions between substances, and proposed pioneering research into Chiral Lewis acid catalysts. He demonstrated its effectiveness and established a new field in organic synthetic chemistry — molecular acid catalysis.
The award ceremony will be held in Tokyo on November 5, 2018.