KAIST

< Professor Sunkyu Han >

For more than a century, Organic Syntheses has served as a unique platform beyond conventional peer reviewed journal: before publishing a procedure, its editors personally repeat the experiment in their laboratory to confirm that another chemist's submitted method actually works as reported. Professor Sunkyu Han from KAIST’s Department of Chemistry has now become the first Korean chemist elected as a member of the Board of Editors of Organic Syntheses.

KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced on September 11 that Professor Han has been elected as a member of the Board of Editors of Organic Syntheses at the Organic Syntheses corporate meeting, held in Chicago on August 23.

During his five-year term, Professor Han will participate to identify, solicit, and select work for publication in Organic Syntheses. He will also check synthetic procedures submitted by other researchers in his own laboratory to experimentally confirm their reliability and reproducilibity. His term may be extended for up to three additional years.

Founded in 1921, Organic Syntheses follows a publishing model unlike that of most academic journals. A synthetic procedure is published only after the member of the Board of Editors has successfully reproduced it in their laboratory and confirmed the submitted results. The journal is currently led by Editor-in-Chief Professor Rick Danheiser from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Because each procedure undergoes rigorous experimental scrutiny, including the checking of its yield, selectivity, and purification process, the methods published in Organic Syntheses are widely regarded as trusted reference protocols by organic chemists around the world.

The role of a member of the Board of Editors of Organic Syntheses therefore extends well beyond conventional editors. Editors must check other researchers’ procedures and attest to their reliability, a responsibility requiring exceptional scientific judgment and experimental rigor. Over the journal’s history, many of the world’s most distinguished organic chemists have served in this capacity.

The Board of Editors currently comprises 14 members, including the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors, and has traditionally included two chemists based in Asia. Distinguished scholars from Japan, China, and Hong Kong have served on the board, among them Ryoji Noyori, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Professor Han, however, is the first Korean chemist elected as a member of the Board of Editors. He will succeed Professor Pauline Chiu of the University of Hong Kong, whose term concludes later this year.

“Professor Sunkyu Han’s election as the first Korean member of the Board of Editors is a significant achievement that reflects both KAIST’s strength in basic science and the growing international stature of Korean organic chemistry,” said KAIST President Choongsik Bae. “KAIST will continue to support its researchers not only for making outstanding discoveries, but also in strengthening the reliability and advancing the frontiers of knowledge across the global academic community.”

Since its founding, Organic Syntheses has published approximately 3,100 articles. Among them, nine have been contributed by organic chemists based in Korea, four of them by KAIST faculty members.

Professor Han’s appointment will also enable KAIST’s Department of Chemistry to host the Organic Syntheses Distinguished Lecture Series during his tenure. Sponsored by Organic Syntheses, Inc., the program will bring internationally renowned organic chemists to KAIST, creating more opportunities for students and early-career researchers to engage directly with leading scholars in the field.

Professor Han is internationally recognized for his work on the chemical synthesis of complex natural products. Since joining KAIST in 2014, he has completed the synthesis of numerous structurally complex alkaloids isolated from Securinega suffruticosa, a medicinal plant native to Korea.

Recently, he has built on this expertise to expand his research into molecular photoswitches, which use light to control molecular structure and function. He is also developing anticancer agents and potential treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, using synthetic derivatives of natural products.

Since June 2025, Professor Han has also served as an Associate Editor of Organic Letters, another leading international journal in the field of organic chemistry.

“Ever since I was a student, I have relied on reactions and procedures published in Organic Syntheses and felt a profound sense of gratitude toward the chemists who personally checked those procedures and turned them into methods the broader community could trust. I have been given this opportunity thanks to everything I have learned while working alongside outstanding group members and colleagues at KAIST. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout that journey, as well as to the university,” said Professor Han.

He added, “I hope to follow in the footsteps of the eminent chemists who helped shape the foundation of modern organic chemistry, including Roger Adams, George Büchi, Arthur Cope, Albert Eschenmoser, Ronald Breslow, and E. J. Corey. By faithfully and diligently carrying out my responsibilities as a member of the Board of Editors of Organic Syntheses, I hope to build a body of reliable chemical knowledge that serves chemists worldwide and contributes to the continued advancement of organic chemistry.”