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Kagan and Soai Win 2026 Nobel Chemistry for Homochirality

By Drooid · Oct 7, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Kagan Soai Nobel Chemistry

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million), was announced in Stockholm.
Heiner Linke said their work solved a century-old homochirality mystery.
Kagan’s 1986 catalyst created excess of one enantiomer in reactions.
Soai designed an autocatalytic reaction that produces only one mirror-image molecule.

Summary

Nobel Committee Presents

The Nobel Committee will present medals, diplomas and 12 million Swedish kronor at the December 10 ceremony in Stockholm.
The French Academy of Sciences, where Kagan is a member, publicly congratulated the laureates, citing national pride.
American Chemical Society president Rigoberto Hernandez said modern medicines would be impossible without the laureates’ chemistry.
Soai learned of the Nobel while shopping near his home and called it the most exciting day of his life.

History

Historical Context

In 1901 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the first Chemistry Nobel to Dutch chemist Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff for his work on chemical dynamics, granting him 150,782 kronor. Over the next 125 years the prize has honored 202 individuals, with the 2026 award going to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for discoveries in asymmetric synthesis that build on van 't Hoff’s pioneering stereochemistry.

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Kagan Soai Nobel Chemistry

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million), was announced in Stockholm.
Heiner Linke said their work solved a century-old homochirality mystery.
Kagan’s 1986 catalyst created excess of one enantiomer in reactions.
Soai designed an autocatalytic reaction that produces only one mirror-image molecule.

1 / 3