 in bioengineering (1976), as well as M. Phil (1978) and Ph.D. (1979) in chemical engineering from Columbia.In 1997, he received a D.Sc degree in chemistry from the University of Tokyo.In 1978, Noda joined Procter & Gamble, where he became an authority in the field of polymer science, specializing in a type of biopolymer, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA).