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BY: So last question is, what advice or words of wisdom do you want to pass on to your grandchildren? You have several grandchildren. So looking back on your life, what words of advice would you give them?

SN: Freedom is the one. Think freely and do whatever you want to do, and that's the most important.

TI: Just one last question. So we didn't show this, this is a book of your papers.

SN: Yes, reprint of my publication.

TI: Yeah, so it's very impressive. There are many, many papers, and I'm curious, of all the work you did, was there anything that you're particularly proud of in terms of a paper or a discovery that you had? It, I think, talks about the Nobel Prize, but of all that work, I want to get a sense of your work.

SN: Well, this is the, I have fifty-five publications and forty-four U.S. patents. But as a chemist, you just keep going. [Laughs] That's about it.

TI: But was there something that you think you did that forwarded the science, that was important, when you think of all that work? Because there's a lot there, and you worked with all these really brilliant scientists. What was your contribution? What did you do that helped?

SN: My work, most of them, related to fluorinated steroidal hormones, or fluorinated organic compound. At the very beginning, in 1950s, I thought fluorinated steroid may cure cancer. So I started to synthesize fluorinated steroid, quite a few, which Dr. Huggins tested the Nobel Prize. But I think I still feel fluorinated organic compound is my most outstanding contribution.

TI: So would you say that, during this time, you were maybe the expert on the synthesis of fluorinated organic compounds?

SN: Yes.

TI: Like in the whole world, you were probably the best?

SN: Oh, yes. Because of the journals covers most of the American Chemical Society, but also some journal... I mean, English Chemical Society Journal.

TI: And today, are fluorinated organic compounds still in use, and what are some examples of fluorinated...

SN: I think even today, some of the fluorinated steroid are used for cancer drug. So not... [Laughs].

BY: Thank you so much. We're honored to interview you.

SN: Thank you for your time.

TI: Thank you.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.