Obituary

had perhaps already established his of a number of unusual and theoretically preeminence. He made significant con- important nonnatural compounds, Saturo Masamune (1928 – 2003): tributions to two broad fields, the syn- whose high degree of strain and insta- Natural Products and Small Rings thesis of natural products and the chem- bility had defeated previous synthetic istry of small ring systems. Masamunes efforts. Especially significant was his Satoru Masamune died on November 9, research interests spanned topics rang- work on the synthesis of cyclobuta- 2003 at the age of 75 from complications ing from the synthesis of organic and diene,[4] [10]-annulenes, and small ring following a cardiac arrest. Born in organometallic compounds to the chem- compounds of Si, Ge, and Sn. Fukuoka (Japan), istry of theoretically interesting mole- Masamune was a constant source of he completed his cules, and later included catalytic anti- off-beat humor, which came from his science degree in bodies, enzyme-catalyzed reactions, and uniquely honest and candid . On 1952 at Tohoku polymer gels. When he visited Columbia the other hand, he often could not University under University in the late 1970s, his interests comprehend common humor, reflecting the guidance of overlapped with those of Ron Breslow, his purist personality. According to his Tetsuo Nozoe. He Tom Katz, Gilbert Stork, and Nick wife Takako he was not known for, or completed his PhD Turro; Koji Nakanishi was the only one was incapable of helping with chores in 1957 at the Uni- whose research interests did not overlap around the house. However, he was a versity of Califor- with those of Masamune. truly warm, loving, devoted husband, nia, Berkeley Masamune is best known for his and an emotional pillar. He was ex- (USA), under the work on methods for the synthesis of tremely bright, always did his best, and supervision of Hen- naturally occurring substances, particu- had an unusually unspoiled personality. ry Rapoport, as one larly compounds with biological activity. He had a great passion for classical of the first Fulbright Fellows. He went as He attracted the attention of the chem- music, especially for Beethoven, and a postdoctoral fellow to Eugene van ical community early in his career when had been an excellent pianist since his Tamelen at the University of Wisconsin he published three consecutive single- youth. He regularly attended concerts of (1956 – 1959), and then took up posi- author communications in JACS in 1964 the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tions first at the Mellon Institute (1960 – on the synthesis of the complex poly- was a close friend of the conductor Seiji 1964), and then at the University of cyclic diterpene alkaloids kaurene, gar- Ozawa. He also avidly followed baseball Alberta (1964 – 78), before moving to ryine, and atisine. [1] He reported these and sumo wrestling. We will all miss this the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- results as an invited speaker at the 3rd smiling person, who was always willing ogy (MIT) in 1978, where he became the IUPAC Symposium on Natural Products to help. He is survived by his wife and Arthur C. Cope Professor in 1991. Chemistry in Kyoto in 1964, which was two children. Masamune received the Award for Cre- attended by 1500 scientists. This prob- ative Work in Synthetic Organic Chem- ably triggered his invitation by Ray Koji Nakanishi istry of the American Chemical Society Lemieux to join the faculty of the , New York in 1978 and the A. C. Cope Scholar University of Alberta. Award in 1987. He was a Fellow of the Masamune pioneered the develop- Rick L. Danheiser Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the ment of a general strategy known as Massachusetts Institute of Technology American Academy of Arts and Scien- “double asymmetric synthesis”,[2] which ces, and a Centenary Scholar of the in the 1980s and 1990s revolutionized Chemical Society in London (1980), and the ability of chemists to prepare certain [1] a) S. Masamune, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1964, 86, he received the Fujiwara Award in 1997. classes of molecules with complex three- 289; b) S. Masamune, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1964, 86, 290; c) S. Masamune, J. Am. Chem. He retired in 2000 but continued to visit dimensional structures. He and his stu- Soc. 1964, 86, 291. his MIT office nearly every day until his dents demonstrated the power of this [2] S. Masamune, W. Choy, J. S. Petersen, L. R. death. strategy in syntheses of a number of Sita, Angew. Chem. 1985, 97,1;Angew. The breadth of Masamunes inter- organic compounds with high structural Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1985, 24,1. ests and accomplishments is extraordi- complexity. Particularly significant were [3] S. Y. Ko, A. W. M. Lee, S. Masamune, L. A. Reed, K. B. Sharpless, F. J. Walker, Tetra- nary. His selection of research projects his landmark syntheses of several im- hedron 1990, 46, 245. was always guided by what he identified portant macrolide antibiotics and carbo- [4] S. Masamune, M. Suda, H. Ona, L. M. as the most important problems of the hydrates, including the l-hexoses as Leichter, J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. day, even if that might require him to mirror-image isomers of the naturally 1972, 1268. abandon his current comfortable and occuring sugars.[3] His contributions to familiar sphere of research in which he chemistry also include the first syntheses

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