In February 2011, Professor Eiichi Nakamura, University of Tokyo, Japan, celebrates his 60th (Kan Reki) birthday. Professor Nakamura has had a far-reaching influence in multiple areas of chemistry through his outstanding contributions and is highly respected the world over.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Nakamura studied at the Tokyo Institute of Technology for both his undergraduate degree and PhD. He then moved to Columbia University, New York, USA, to perform post doctoral research under the supervision of Professor Gilbert Stork.

In 1980, Nakamura returned to the Tokyo Institute of Technology to begin his independent research career; accompanying his synthetic studies with quantum chemical calculations, in particular on the mechanism of organocuprate reactions. This deeper understanding of mechanisms contributed to the adoption of Nakamura’s reactions into the organic chemist’s toolkit.
His research expanded to include the development of new methods of buckminsterfullerene functionalization and has created fullerenes, nanohorns, carbon shuttlecocks, and nanotubes with distinctive and elegant structures, such as the pentapod sprouting buckyballs.

Nakamura was also extremely active in the founding of Chemistry – An Asian Journal, has served on the Editorial Board, and is currently on its International Advisory Board.

As part of his birthday celebration, and as a tribute to Professor Nakamura’s illustrious career, Chemistry – An Asian Journal has published a special issue in honor of his birthday. The issue features a Guest Editorial by Professor Roald Hoffmann, Cornell University, USA, (1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) along with 56 invited contributions from top scientists throughout the world.

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  Browse the special issue >>>
  Chemistry – An Asian Journal
  Issue 2, 2011