Negishi
His talk, which is part of the Frontiers in Chemistry Seminar Series, will take place at 4 p.m. in Memorial Field House Room 2100.
Negishi pioneered metal-based reactions called palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling that allow for efficient synthesis of complex organic compounds.
This more precise method for coupling two carbon-containing fragments is used for synthesizing a wide array of chemicals used in medicine, agriculture and electronics.
For that work, Negishi shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Dr. Richard Heck of the University of Delaware and Dr. Akira Suzuki from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.
Their methods are widely used in industry and research in a variety of applications, including pharmaceutical antibiotics that work on drug-resistant bacteria; agricultural chemicals that protect crops from fungi; and electronic light-emitting diodes used to produce ultra-thin monitors.
“Transition metals can help us synthesize a wide variety of organic compounds we need in high yields efficiently, selectively, economically and safely,” Negishi said. “My lecture will discuss the basic principle and concept, discoveries based on them, and their development and applications with emphasis on catalytic asymmetric syntheses in these manners.”
“Having your work recognized by the awarding of a Nobel Prize is the ultimate achievement for any scientist. We are honored to have Dr. Negishi visit The University of Toledo to discuss his research with the faculty and students in the Chemistry Department,” said Dr. Ron Viola, Distinguished University Professor and chair of chemistry.
After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Negishi came to America to work on his doctorate. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he met Dr. Herbert Brown, professor of chemistry at Purdue University and a trailblazer in synthetic organic chemistry.
In 1966, Negishi went to West Lafayette, Ind., to work with Brown at Purdue as a postdoctoral researcher. He then was a faculty member at Syracuse University for eight years.
Negishi joined the Purdue faculty in 1979 — the same year Brown received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 1999, he was named the inaugural Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, a title he still holds. He also is the Teijin Limited Director of the Negishi-Brown Institute.
For more information on the free, public talk, contact Dr. Kana Yamamoto, UT assistant professor of chemistry, at kana.yamamoto@utoledo.edu or 419.530.1507.
