ACP
Asian CORE Program (ACP): Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia :
The Asian CORE Program (ACP): Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia was initiated in 2005 by Professor Dr. Minoru Isobe from the Nagoya University, Japan, who has had extensive personal and bilateral ties with chemists from many Asian countries. This program was originally established with joint efforts among 5 core institutions, including the Nagoya University (Japan), the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea), the Chulabhorn Research Institute (Thailand), and the National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan). The coordinators at various core institutions have subsequently expanded current memberships and recruited additional 7 cooperating institutions in Japan, 14 institutions in China (including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), 5 institutions in Taiwan, 6 institutions in South Korea, and 10 institutions in Thailand. More recently, representatives from Singapore have been invited and already agreed to participate in the Asian CORE Program in 2006. Future developments to recruit additional institutions, countries, and regions have also been planned.
Despite cultural, socioeconomic, and educational diversity in each country, the main thriving goal of establishing an international collaborative program in Asia, based on the principle of equal partnership among all the participating countries, is to elevate the rigor of chemistry research in each participating country, to facilitate high-quality research in the field of organic chemistry and create lasting world-class research hubs, while concurrently nurturing the next generation of leading organic chemists in East and Southeast Asian regions. Sustainable collaborations among research/academic institutions in the member countries/regions will also be established.
It is worth mentioning that the scope of organic chemistry in this regard is not limited to the core areas of organic synthesis, methodology, and total synthesis, but also includes natural products chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, nano-chemistry, green chemistry, structural and material sciences, environmental chemistry, as well as the applications of these fields to ultimately benefit society and the economy of the Asian region.
- Ruchirawat S, Chittchang M, Ploypradith P. The Asian CORE Program: Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia. ScienceAsia 2007;33 Supplement 1:029-031.
- Isobe M, Chiu P. The 1st International Conference on Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia. Chem. Asian J. 2007;2:452-454.
- Isobe M, Nishikawa T. JSPS Asian core program on cutting-edge organic chemistry in Asia. Yakugaku Zasshi 2009;129:401-406. (Japanese)