Cleavage of Carbon-Carbon Single Bonds by Transition Metals

Masahiro Murakami is Professor of Organometallic Chemistry at Kyoto University, Japan. He received his D.Sc. from the University of Tokyo, Japan, under the supervision of Prof. T. Mukaiyama in 1984. He held an assistant position at the same university (1984-1987, with Prof. T. Mukaiyama) and at Kyoto University (1987-1993, with Prof. Y. Ito). From 1991 to 1992, he worked for Prof. A. Eschenmoser at ETH Zürich, Switzerland, as a postdoctoral fellow. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1993 and Professor in 2002 at Kyoto University. He is a recipient of the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (2004) and the Nagoya Silver Medal (2008), Synthetic Organic Chemistry Award, Japan (2013), and Humboldt Research Award (2013). His research interests are directed toward the development of new reactions, including transition-metal-catalyzed reactions involving carbon-carbon bond formation or cleavage, electrocyclic reactions, and synthesis of heterocycles. Naoto Chatani is Professor of Molecular Design Chemistry at Osaka University, Japan. He studied chemistry at Osaka University, Japan, and received his Ph.D. in 1984 under the guidance of Profs. N. Sonoda and S. Murai. In 1984 he joined the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University and worked in the laboratory of Prof. T. Hanafusa. After postdoctoral studies with Prof. S. E. Denmark at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, USA, 1988-1989), he moved back to Osaka University and worked with Prof. S. Murai as Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associcate Professor in 1992 and Professor in 2003. He received the Young Chemist Award of the Chemical Society of Japan (1991) and the fourth Green and Sustainable Chemistry Award by the Minister of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology (2005). His current research interests center on the area of catalysis.