The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday that scientists Omar Yaghi, Susumu Kitagawa, and Richard Robson have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work in the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — a revolutionary class of materials with vast applications in energy, environment, and medicine.
Professor Omar Yaghi, born in Amman, Jordan, in 1965, is a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and the founding director of the Berkeley Global Science Institute.
He is widely regarded as the father of “network chemistry,” a field that explores how molecular building blocks can be linked together to create new structures with tailored properties.
Yaghi’s pioneering research on MOFs has opened new frontiers in science and technology. These porous, crystalline materials can trap, store, and separate gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen, offering significant potential for clean energy storage, carbon capture, and environmental sustainability.
Before receiving the Nobel Prize, Yaghi had already earned numerous prestigious international awards, including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the Albert Einstein World Award of Science, recognizing his visionary contributions to the field.
Holding Jordanian, Saudi, and American nationalities, Yaghi represents a rare example of scientific excellence bridging the Arab world and the global research community.
His achievements are seen as a source of pride across the Middle East and beyond, highlighting the growing role of Arab scientists in shaping modern science.
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is the third of six Nobel Prizes to be announced this year, following the awards in Medicine and Physics earlier this week.
The prize continues the Academy’s tradition of honoring discoveries that have transformed humanity’s understanding of the natural world and paved the way for technological innovation.
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