Professor Tetsuo Nozoe and Taiwan

Abstract

Note from the Editor:From the earliest moments in the planning of the publication of the Nozoe Autograph Books, I had hoped to obtain an essay written by someone who had known and both studied under and performed research with Tetsuo Nozoe from his days in Formosa, then Taiwan. But that was a faint hope, as Nozoe left Taiwan for Sendai in early May 1948, more than 66 years ago! Anyone who would have been with Nozoe in Taiwan would be 90 years old! For months, I put out many “feelers” and then, quite unexpectedly, I heard from Professor Tien‐Yau Luh, NTU Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University. He wrote,“In the beginning, I was wondering if your letter was actually addressed to me or my colleagues who bear the last name LIU. Nevertheless, I did make an introductory remark before the Nozoe award lecture held in Taipei last July/August at the ISNA meeting. Concerning the short essay on Professor Nozoe in Taiwan, I have contacted a retired professor who worked in Nozoe's laboratory at the Taihoku and NTU in the 1940s for help. He kindly agreed to orally describe the “history” of the period, and I shall be happy to edit it, to form an essay for your project.”A miracle! And with Professor Luh's assistance, we now present a very special essay by Professor Tung‐Bin Lo that meets—even exceeds—our hopes. At every stage of the design and production of the Nozoe Autograph Books project, we have readily received the assistance, support and contributions of enthusiastic scientists and friends of Tetsuo Nozoe from around the world. With this issue of The Chemical Record, the 15th consecutive issue of the journal, the publication of every page of the Nozoe Autograph Books—all 1179 pages—is completed. Together with 19 specially invited essays, including Professor Lo's that follows, we have produced a wonderful, historically important collection that is now archivally safe.And we have a surprise! As described in more detail in another essay accompanying this issue written by Brian Johnson and myself, there will be a 16th segment of the Nozoe Autograph Books. We shall be collecting autographs for a volume to be given to Tohoku University in honor of Professor Nozoe and to celebrate his and his friends' achievements in science. I hope you will join us and sign the book, just as Professors Luh and Lo have joined us in making this project ever more robust and unique. —Jeffrey I. Seeman Guest Editor University of Richmond Richmond, Virginia 23173, USA E‐mail: jseeman@richmond.edu