Prof. Ben Feringa awarded Yamada-Koga Prize and Nagoya Gold Medal

Organic chemist Prof. Ben Feringa was awarded two important Japanese prizes this month for his research on the synthesis of optically active chemical compounds. They are the Yamada-Koga Prize from the Japanese Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Nagoya Gold Medal prize.

Optically active compounds are important building blocks for drugs because they can reduce the number of undesirable side effects. The invention of the molecular motor in 1999 which made Feringa world famous, is also a result of research on these chemical compounds.

Further information: Dr Maria Cristina d’Arrigo, Scientific Coordinator of the Stratingh Institute