Ryoji Noyori, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in chemistry, has been appointed president of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken), the education ministry said Tuesday.
Noyori, 64, will begin his term at the government-affiliated research institute in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, on Oct. 1. He is expected to serve a five-year terms at the nation's premier research laboratory in natural science and technology.
He will retire Sept. 30 from his post as a professor at Nagoya University. He has taught at the university for 35 years.
Noyori and two U.S. chemists won the Nobel for their work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation and oxidation reactions.
Atsuko Toyama, head of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, reported the appointment to the Cabinet on Tuesday morning.