About the speaker
Professor Makoto Fujita, Distinguished University Professor, The University of Tokyo
Makoto Fujita is a Distinguished University Professor at Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo, Japan. He earned his Ph.D. from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1987. After holding positions at Chiba University and the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) in Okazaki, he became a full professor at Nagoya University in 1999. In 2002, he moved to The University of Tokyo, where he was appointed a full professor. He received his current title as a University Distinguished Professor in 2019.
He is a recipient of the 2018 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and became a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) in 2025.
About the topic
Molecular self-assembly based on coordination chemistry has undergone explosive development in recent years. Since 1990, our research has demonstrated that the simple combination of the geometry of transition metals (typically, the 90-degree coordination angle of a Pd(II) centre) with organic bridging ligands enables the quantitative self-assembly of nano-sized, discrete organic frameworks. Representative examples include square molecules (1990), linked-ring molecules (1994), cages (1995), capsules (1999), and tubes (2004), all of which are self-assembled from simple and small components.