The FINANCIAL — Sony Corporation (hereafter 'Sony') on December 13 announced that Professor Ei-ichi Negishi, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University (USA) and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hokkaido University Catalysis Research Center, has accepted the appointment of Executive Research Advisor to Sony for research and development in the field of materials and devices, specifically in the area of organic electronics.
In this role, Professor Negishi will offer advice on the various areas of organic electronics research and development Sony is conducting at both internal and external research centers, by participating in research progress review meetings and through other opportunities. Professor Negishi will also advise on Sony's medium and long-term research plans, and on methods for nurturing talented researchers. Through the involvement of such a renowned expert in this field, Sony aims to stimulate its researchers in their organics electronics research and development, and accelerate their R&D processes as a result.
Professor Negishi was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Akira Suzuki, Professor Emeritus at Hokkaido University and Richard F. Heck, Professor Emeritus at University of Delaware, for their research findings in 'palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis', which is being used widely throughout the world as a technology that drastically accelerates organic synthesis reactivity, and that has contributed to the technological advancement of various industries, including pharmaceuticals, agrichemicals, plastics and liquid crystal.
Sony continues to achieve world-leading research results in the field of organic electronics based on organic chemistry and synthesis, which have contributed to the development of technologies such as organic transistors used in the rear substrates of organic light emitting diode(OLED) displays and flexible OLED displays, dye-sensitized solar cells (a type of organic photovoltaic cell), electrolytes for next-generation rechargeable batteries, vegetable-based plastics and recycled plastics. Sony is further accelerating its research and development in these technologies, to enable their adoption as core technologies in future generations of Sony products.
The development of ground-breaking materials that deliver new functionality through organic synthesis is the key to differentiation in the field of organic electronics. Research into controlling the essentially limitless variations of chemical bonding between substances in order to achieve the desired functionality, requires extensive specialist expertise, creativity, scientific flair, and the endurance of extremely long experiment periods. The opportunity to interact with Professor Negishi, a global authority on organic chemistry who brings vast experience and insights relating to research procedures, is certain to stimulate and inspire Sony's researchers as they engages in their own research and development of organic electronics. Sony expects his appointment to be a catalyst for further breakthroughs leading to the practical implementation of these technologies in new and revolutionary Sony products.
Professor Ei-ichi Negishi – Biography
Born in 1935. Joined Teijin, Ltd. after graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering in 1958. Obtained doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. Member of Professor H.C. Brown's (co-recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) Research Laboratory at Purdue University (USA) from 1966 to 1972. Appointed Assistant Professor at Syracuse University (USA) in 1972. Professor at Purdue University from 1979. Received Chemical Society of Japan Award in 1997. Named inaugural H.C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University in 1999. Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hokkaido University Catalysis Research Center, October, 2010. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on December 10, 2010, together with Richard F. Heck and Akira Suzuki, for their achievements in the research of'palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis'. Aged 75 years.
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