Justin Du Bois (Stanford University, USA; The 1st Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2004)
I am so very sad to hear about the passing of Uemura sansei. Daisuke was such an inspirational figure in the chemical sciences in addition to being such a wonderful person. I will never forget his graciousness to me on my first visit to Nagoya for the Hirata Symposium. The time we spent together discussing science and enjoying dinner and drinks (including R.B Woodward’s favorite strawberry daiquiri!) are cherished memories for me. Please give his family my condolences, as well as your colleagues. The Chemistry community has lost one of its greatest members. I hope there will be an opportunity in the future to celebrate Daiskue’s incredible career.
David R. Liu (Harvard University, USA; The 2nd Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2005)
Professor Uemura was a giant of natural products chemistry, enabling the synthesis and bioorganic characterization of many remarkably bioactive small molecules. Beyond his research accomplishments, Professor Uemura was also a champion of young scientists, founding and chairing the Hirata Award that has recognized and encouraged many rising stars of organic chemistry. His loss is a tragedy, but his legacy of mentorship and supporting early stage scientists will live forever. He will be missed.
Phil S. Baran (The Scripps Research Institute, USA; The 3rd Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2006)
Professor Uemura was a legend in the field of natural products chemistry, from isolation to total synthesis. His contributions spanned many different classes of metabolites and are taught in classrooms around the world. He was also a generous, warm, and kind person with an infectious laugh and great sense of humor. He will be sorely missed.
Peter H. Seeberger (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany; The 4th Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2007)
It is with great sadness that I hear about the passing of Prof. Uemura. With him, a giant of organic chemistry has left us – a tragic loss for science but more so, a wonderful person and great human being is no longer with us. I vividly remember spending several days with Professor Uemura when I visited Nagoya University on the occasion of the Yoshimasa Hirata Gold Medal lecture in 2007. With his impressive contributions to many areas of organic chemistry, he joined the Editorial Advisory Board of the Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry where he supported the idea of platinum open access publishing free to authors and readers until today. My sincere condolences to his family, his colleagues and friends. I will miss him!
Scott J. Miller (Yale University, USA; The 5th Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2008)
I am so sad to receive this news. This is a great loss for the whole international scientific community, and of course a tremendous personal loss for those closest, too. Please accept my heartfelt condolences. As for me, I was (and remain) so inspired by Prof. Uemura, whom I had the pleasure to meet several times, including the occasions of my memorable and happy trips to Nagoya. Calyculin, okadaic acid, the halichondrins, the pinnatoxins…and of course, the palytoxin work reminding us once again of the remarkable legacy of Prof. Hirata, too. My own fascination with molecular complexity is continuously shaped and reshaped by all of this work, and I am so grateful to have been influenced by Prof. Uemura.
Jeffrey W. Bode (ETH-Zürich, Switzerland; The 6th Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2009; The Hirata Award Committee)
I first met Uemura-sensei in the early 2000s, when I was a postdoc at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Previously, I had known him only by name – as part of the fearless team from Nagoya University who had elucidated the planar structure of palytoxin, a feat that to this days stands as one of the greatest achievements of organic and analytical chemistry. Later on, in January 2010 I had the honour to be hosted by Prof. Uemura for the Hirata Memorial Award, one of the best experiences of my professional life. It was a snowy day in January, but Uemura-sensei was not going to let that bother him. With an also lively Nakanishi-sensei in tow, we crossed the town for restaurant, to bar, to nicer bar in an evening filled with science and laughter. Upon joining ITbM a few years later, I enjoyed many chances to interact with him again, especially through intense debates selecting the next Hirata awardees. Nagoya will not be the same without him, but I am blessed by the chance to spend many memorable days (and nights) together.
Jin-Quan Yu (The Scripps Research Institute, USA; The 7th Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2010)
Prof Uemura is truly passionate about organic chemistry. His enthusiasm and hospitality are simply contagious. He will be greatly missed by the community.
Tobias Ritter (Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Germany; The 9th Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2013)
I am shocked to have heard about the passing of Prof. Uemura. With him, the field of organic chemistry has lost a true scholar. I was fortunate to experience his warm personality and excitement for chemistry during a ceremony for the Hirata Award. He will live on in all organic chemists through his many contributions.
Martin D. Burke (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA; The 10th Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lecture, 2014)
The field of Chemistry has lost a brilliant molecule maker, an inspiring natural product hunter, a treasured statesman, and a dear friend. In addition to his amazing scientific achievements, I will always remember the tremendous warmth and kindness with which Professor Uemura welcomed me to Japan the first time I met him during the celebration of the 2013 Hirata Award. I will always remember the inspiring comments he made to me after my talk, laughing together for hours at the beautiful dinner afterwards, and his brilliant smile that lit up the room. He made Nagoya such a completely unique place in the world – where science and scientists are joyfully celebrated, and where young chemists from all over the world are welcomed, challenged, inspired, and emboldened. He has described his own work with almost childlike joy as “discovery of extremely bioactive natural products with splendid architectures”. Well, the world has just lost an extremely splendid human being, whose legacy will continue to inspire so many future generations of chemists around the globe.
Ashraf Brik (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel; The 11th Hirata Award, 2015)
I had the pleasure and honor meeting Prof. Daisuke Uemura during my visit to ITbM, Nagoya University to receive the 2015 Hirata Award. Beside being an amazing organic chemist who shaped the current organic chemistry in Nagoya, I found him warm, welcoming and very charming person. I am saddened by the news of Prof. Daisuke Uemura loss. I extend my deepest sympathies to the entire family of ITbM, Nagoya University and his close friend and family.
Emily Balskus (Harvard University, USA; The 12th Hirata Award, 2016)
I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Prof. Daisuke Uemura. Prof. Uemura was an absolutely incredible scientist whose work has inspired and will continue to inspire generations of chemists. As a recipient of the Hirata Award, I had the opportunity to visit Nagoya University and ITbM and to engage with the wonderful community of organic chemists that Prof. Uemura built and fostered. This trip, and all of the opportunities it presented for building friendships and sharing inspiring science, remains one of my very happiest professional memories. I will always be grateful for Prof. Uemura for that amazing experience.
David Nicewicz (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; The 13th Hirata Award, 2017)
I am truly sorry to hear about Prof. Uemura - I only met him during the Hirata Award proceedings but he left an indelible impression on me. Of course, his work is without question, hugely important to the field of natural products, but beyond his obvious professional contributions, was a charming and interesting person. I send my condolences to his family and to the Department of Chemistry at Kanagawa University.
Rubén Martín (Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, Spain; The 14th Hirata Award, 2018)
My most sincere condolences for the loss of Prof. Daisuke Uemura. Some people come into our lives and leave an unperishable footprint on our hearts, and there is no better way to describe the big loss that Prof. Uemura represents for the Scientific Community. A giant in Science, undoubtedly a genius in natural product chemistry, and a mentor that managed to transfer his invaluable knowledge to a new generation of scientists. I started my PhD on total synthesis of natural products, and as I said during my Hirata lecture, Uemura’s work was certainly not only inspirational, but also key for my development as a chemist.
Once again, my most sincere condolences…. A big loss for Science, and even greater loss for Nagoya.
Condolence messages from Hirata Award winners
