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The CRC Symposium was founded with the concept of publicizing pioneering research works by Japanese researchers abroad at the initiative of Japanese research institutions. The fifth symposium of this annual event was held in Moscow in 2009. Previous events were held at RWTH Aachen (Germany in 2005), Purdue University (USA in 2006), the University of Lyon (France in 2007), and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Sweden in 2008). The main topic of the one-day symposium, held at the N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry on September 18, was metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. The reactions are increasing their importance both in industry and academia as a useful protocol of carbon-carbon bond-formation, and many researchers believe that this research area is a potential candidate for a future Nobel Prize in chemistry. It should be pointed out that more than a handful of Japanese researchers, including faculties of Hokkaido University, have been involved in discovery and development of the reactions. For this year's symposium, following speakers were invited: Prof. Irina P. Beletskaya (Lomonosov Moscow State University); Prof. Yuri Belokon (INEOS RAS); Prof. Paul Knochel (University of Munich); Prof. Emeritus Akira Suzuki (Hokkaido University); Prof. Ei-ichi Negishi (Purdue University); Prof. Tamejiro Hiyama (Kyoto University). Prof. Tamotsu Takahashi and Associate Prof. Masamichi Ogasawara of the Catalysis Research Center at Hokkaido University traveled to Moscow for presiding and organizing the symposium together with several technical staff, and four graduate students (Mr. Mingxian Jian, Mr. Debabrata Payra, Mr. Osamu Tomita, and Mr. Keita Fuchise) gave poster presentations with financial support from the Global COE Program. The symposium attracted more than 150 participants, mostly from Moscow but some were traveled long way from St. Petersburg and Ufa. During the lunch time, poster presentations were given by graduate students of Lomonosov Moscow State University, the N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, as well as Hokkaido University. Due to high quality of the lectures presented by the potential Nobel Prize candidates, all the lectures received many questions from the audience. Right after the symposium, many Russian students queued up for autographs from Prof. Suzuki and the other lecturers. After the symposium, a banquet was held at a restaurant in center of Moscow, and all the lecturers and organizers celebrated the success of the event.
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