Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry Blog

It’s the final day of our symposium series and it’s been another great one, in the historic city of Kyoto. Many thanks to our host Professor Keiji Maruoka.

Entrance to the Kyoto symposium

Professor Ken Itami

The speakers again presented some really exciting and innovative research. Alongside the international speakers Professor Naoto Chatani from Osaka University presented his work on Ni-catalysed functionalization of C-H bonds; OBC Editorial Board member Professor Kenichiro Itami (Nagoya University) talked about how C-H functionalization can be applied to biological and materials problems; and Professor Michinori Suginome presented on chirality-switchable helical macromolecules.

Speakers, host and RSC staff

Once again we saw some great work from some early career researchers: Professors Norie Momiyama (Institute of Molecular Research), Takuya Hashimoto (Kyoto University), Yusuke Kita and Koji Hirano (both from Osaka University).

It’s been a fantastic week of organic chemistry. Many thanks to all the hosts and speakers for making it a great set of symposia!

We’ve just completed a great first day of the Japan Organic Chemistry Symposia.

Hosted by Professor Masahiro Terada at Tohoku University, the symposium featured speakers from the host university, Nihon University and Hokkaido University, along with international members of our journals’ Editorial Boards.

Tohoku University students outside the auditorium

First up was Professor Hidetoshi Tokuyama from Tohoku University, presenting on his syntheses of dihydrooxepine-containing epidithiodiketopiperazine natural products, then Erik Sorensen from Princeton University and the Editorial Board of Organic Chemistry Frontiers talked about some of his latest research in C-H functionalization.

Professor Tokuyama presenting

After lunch the packed audience saw talks from Professor Hiroyuki Isobe from Tohoku University on his latest research on cycloarylenes, and then Huw Davies from Emory University and the ChemSocRev Editorial Board talked about the NSF CCI Center for Selective C-H Functionalization, a really innovative collaboration between researchers in the US.

The packed audience in Sendai

Mid-afternoon saw some great Invited lectures by early career faculty: Professors Nozomi Saito and Shintaro Ishida from Tohoku University, Tsuyoshi Mita from Hokkaido University and Atsushi Kobayashi from Nihon University.

Hosts, speakers and the Royal Society of Chemistry team

The day was rounded off with plenary lectures from Professor Masaya Sawamura from Hokkaido University on hydrogen bonding with nonpolar sp3 C-H bonds in enantioselective cooperative metal catalysis, and Professor Margaret Brimble from University of Auckland and the Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry Editorial Board on some of her latest syntheses of benzannulated spiroketal natural products.

We’d like to thank Professor Terada and his colleagues for making it such a great symposium!

Speaker abstracts and biographies