Omar Yaghi, University alum and professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, was one of three people awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday.
The recipients — Yaghi, Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne — were recognized for developing metal-organic frameworks that store toxic gases, speed up chemical reactions and capture carbon dioxide or water from the atmosphere.
The chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry said during the award ceremony that the laureates’ discovery “paved the way for the creation of materials that can separate toxic chemicals from wastewater or harvest water molecules in a desert.”
Yaghi graduated from the University with a doctorate in chemistry in 1990, after receiving his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the State University of New York-Albany in 1985.
The laureates’ work started with experiments by Robson in the ’80s and gradually developed over a period of approximately 15 years, according to The New York Times.
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Born in Jordan to a family of Palestinian refugees in 1965, Yaghi is the first Palestinian scientist and one of 12 University alumni and 14 University faculty members to earn the Nobel Prize.
At a news conference at the University of California, Berkeley, on Wednesday, Yaghi credited the U.S. public university system for his achievements. He also said earning his first grant from the National Science Foundation was essential for earning the prize, the NYT reported.
“Science allows us to talk to each other, and I don’t think you can stop that,” Yaghi said at the news conference. “I think that that’s something that will continue to be important, and enlightened societies will encourage it.”
In a press release, professor in LAS and department head Catherine J. Murphy celebrated Yaghi’s achievement and what it means to the University.
“He is a testament to the brilliant and creative students who come to the department of chemistry at the U. of I. to explore their passion for science,” Murphy said.
