LAUSR

Professor Kenji Mori was the son of a pastor and grew up in Okayama, Japan. His father introduced him to nature and agriculture, and throughout his life Kenji was guided by his Christian faith, kindness and compassion. Kenji Mori studied chemistry at the University of Tokyo where he obtained a Bachelor degree in Agricultural Chemistry (1957). The subject of his PhD thesis, carried out with Professor M. Matsui, was the total synthesis of gibberellins (1962), a group of complex plant-produced diterpenes. He held the position of Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry of the University of Tokyo until 1978, when he became Full Professor at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry. After his retirement (1995) he continued at the Department of Chemistry of the Science University of Tokyo (until 2001) and worked with several Japanese companies and institutes as a consultant, especially at RIKEN (since 2003). The concept of asymmetry in bioorganic chemistry was a driving force in Kenji Mori’s scientific work. Approaching this area from the perspective of preparative organic chemistry, studies on the synthesis of bioactive natural products remained the focus of his research activities. He was a pioneer on the significance of stereochemistry in biologically active natural products, and for more than 45 years he was exceptionally productive in the field of asymmetric synthesis. His constant input and demand for nothing less than excellence was a decisive stimulus towards understanding the importance of stereochemistry in chemical signalling within and between organisms. Large par t s of Kenj i Mor i ’s work dea l t wi th semiochemistry and chiral discrimination. He was the first one to show the importance of enantiomeric composition in chiral volatile signals by synthesizing the pheromones of Khapra beetles (Trogoderma spp. 1973) and Ips bark beetles (1974). His enantioselective syntheses of many insect pheromones are unparalleled contributions to our basic knowledge of insect pheromone chemistry. As an untiring, enthusiastic, and efficient mediator between chemistry and biology, Kenji generously supported legions of biologists and chemists with large amounts of extremely pure test materials and reference samples, providing indispensable tools for progress in many other labs all over the world. Determination of the absolute configuration of a multitude of chiral natural products is based on his synthetic compounds, and chiral synergism and chiral inhibition could be investigated and quantified through his work. His book on “Chemical Synthesis of Hormones, Pheromones and Other Bioregulators” (Wiley 2010) has a strong autobiographic touch. In many of his more than 1200 frequently cited publications (research papers, monographs, and review articles) Kenji Mori was single author or the only chemist among biologists. With a proud smile Kenji used to say: “I did it with my own hands”. Throughout his scientific life, his wife Keiko did most of the typing – thank you, Keiko. Making use of his experience, he was a highly esteemed board member of 15 international journals and a member of the Science Council of Japan (1988–1999). As an eminent scientist, Kenji was a sought * Wittko Francke [email protected]