Noyori, Ryoji (1938-...), a Japanese chemist, won a share of the 2001 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his creation of molecules that are widely used in the manufacture of drugs and other products. He shared the prize with the American chemists William S. Knowles and K. Barry Sharpless. Knowles and Sharpless created molecules that function in much the same way as those developed by Noyori. The three scientists worked separately.