Takeru Higuchi, the man and the scientist.

Madison (United States), December 7th 1941. It is early in the morning. Takeru Higuchi is listening to the radio when the programme is suddenly interrupted: part of the American naval fleet has just been destroyed in an air-raid on Pearl Harbour. For the United States, their involvement in the World War is now inevitable. For Takeru Higuchi, the son of Japanese immigrants, this was the beginning of an inner struggle. As a student of Physical Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, he had received a fellowship from the American government; the war between the two countries pulled him in opposing directions. His austere childhood had left him with an extremely determined character and Takeru Higuchi chose to overcome his suffering by a personal dichotomy: he gave his heart to Japan but put his trust in the United States and devoted his energy to the service of science. This choice made him a man and a scientist of exceptional qualities, producing scientific work astonishing by its originality and quantity, making a major contribution to the pharmaceutical profession, particularly in the field of research.