Ryoji Noyori, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and outside director of Takasago, gave a commemorative speech at a special event held at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center on November 10 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Symposium on the Chemistry of Terpenes, Essential Oils, and Aromatics (TEAC).

TEAC has been held annually since 1957 as a special-interest meeting of The Chemical Society of Japan. The symposium was established by Takasago's then-president Teikichi Hiraizumi with the assistance of several university professors. It addresses three fields: Chemistry on Flavor and Fragrance, the chemistry and synthesis of terpenes, and the composition and chemical structure of essential oils.

High school students, who will take the helm of Japanese science and technology in the future, were invited to the lecture, "Science and Technology for Future Generations," upon Professor Noyori's request, and the lecture hall was filled to its 1,000-seat capacity.

As a boy, Noyori was deeply impressed when Hideki Yukawa won the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics. This started him on the path of becoming a researcher, leading him eventually to develop ideas that forged a path forward in chemical synthesis for the next century. In conjunction with this lecture, an aroma chemical-related displays were presented in the lobby, which included posters from Takasago explaining optically active aroma chemicals, and provided 1-menthol and d-menthol samples. Professor Noyori touched upon the background of how industrial production of 1-menthol was achieved, a topic of great interest to the many in attendance.

In a different part of the program, in the area of the chemistry and synthesis of terpenes, the lecture by Daisuke Igarashi of Takasago's Fine Chemicals Laboratory, " Study on Asymmetric Hydrogenation in Biphasic System: Evaluation with 2-methyl-2-alkenoic acid," was selected as "Best Presentation" and Igarashi was presented with an award certificate and prize.