Omar Mwannes Yaghi (; born February 9, 1965) is a chemist best known for developing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and pioneering reticular chemistry. He was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Richard Robson and Susumu Kitagawa, for this work.
From 2012 to 2026, Yaghi was a University Professor and James and Neeltje Tretter Endowed Chair in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In July 2026, he left the university to lead a newly-established artificial intelligence and material science research institute at Tsinghua University. Analysts and media outlets characterized the move as a significant indicator of shifting geopolitical dynamics in scientific research, driven by factors such as changing federal funding structures in the United States and expanded institutional recruitment initiatives by China.
Yaghi is also an affiliate scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, founding director of the Berkeley Global Science Institute, and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences" National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and Foreign Associates ", National Academy of Sciences, Retrieved on 30 April 2019. and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina." List of Members Expert Search Professor Dr. Omar M. Yaghi ", German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina "], Retrieved on 9 June 2023." Omar Yaghi appointed as University Professor ", UC Berkeley College of Chemistry "], Retrieved on 26 June 2025. In January 2025, he became the seventh president of the World Cultural Council, an international organization promoting cultural and scientific advancement." Our President ", World Cultural Council, Retrieved on 25 July 2025.
Early life and education Omar Mwannes Yaghi was born in Amman, Jordan, on February 9, 1965, to a Palestinian refugee family" Omar Yaghi Winner of Wolf Prize in Chemistry – 2018 " , Wolf Foundation, Retrieved on 4 March 2018. that had fled from Masmiya, a city located between Jaffa and Jerusalem, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He grew up in a crowded household with many children, all living in a single room that also housed the family's livestock."A Pioneer in Reticular Chemistry: Shaping a Sustainable Future – Omar M. Yaghi", [Tang Prize documentary], Retrieved on 19 May 2025. The family had limited access to clean water."Omar Yaghi: Harvesting water from desert air", [Molecular Frontiers Symposium "Planet Earth: A Scientific Journey", at Stockholm University, May 9–10, 2019], Retrieved on 30 December 2019.
At the age of 15, encouraged by his father, he moved to the United States." The Alchemist " , Forbes, Retrieved on 1 February 2018. Although he knew little English, he began classes at Hudson Valley Community College. He graduated in 1983 with an Associate of Science in Mathematics and Science. He then transferred to the State University of New York at Albany, where he completed his Chemistry Bachelor of Science degree in 1985. He pursued his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, earning his PhD in 1990 under the guidance of Walter G. Klemperer. He then served as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University (1990–1992) under Richard H. Holm. In July 2026 he moved to Tsinghua University, China, as full time Chair Professor. He had been an Honorary Professor there since 2022 and a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2025.
In 2021, Yaghi was granted Saudi citizenship by royal decree.
Academic career Yaghi began his academic career as an assistant professor at Arizona State University (1992–1998). He then held the Robert W. Parry Professorship of Chemistry at the University of Michigan (1999–2006), followed by the Christopher S. Foote Professorship of Chemistry and the Irving and Jean Stone Chair in Physical Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (2007–2012).
In 2012, he moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he was the James and Neeltje Tretter Professor of Chemistry. From 2012 to 2013, he served as the director of the Molecular Foundry at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is the Founding Director of the Berkeley Global Science Institute and a co-director of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute, a partnership between UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He also co-directs the California Research Alliance by BASF and the Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet." New institute brings together chemistry and machine learning to tackle climate change ", Retrieved on 21 September 2022.
In May 2025, the University of California Board of Regents promoted Yaghi to the rank of University Professor, the system's highest honor reserved for scholars of the highest international distinction." Omar Yaghi appointed as University Professor ", UC Berkeley College of Chemistry, Retrieved on 25 July 2025.
In July 2026, Yaghi vacated his position at UC Berkeley to launch the Yaghi Science Initiative and to take up a position at Tsinghua University in China, to lead an artificial intelligence laboratory dedicated to accelerating the discovery of new materials.
Research Reticular chemistry
Yaghi is the pioneer of reticular chemistry, a field dedicated to assembling molecular building blocks into open, crystalline frameworks using strong bonds." Omar Yaghi wins Albert Einstein World Award of Science ", Chemical & Engineering News, 10 July 2017. Retrieved on 12 March 2018." Makoto Fujita and Omar Yaghi win Wolf Prize in Chemistry ", Chemical & Engineering News, 19 February 2018. Retrieved on 12 March 2018." Spiers Memorial Lecture – Progress and prospects of reticular chemistry ", Royal Society of Chemistry, 18 August 2017. Retrieved on 12 March 2018.
According to the International Balzan Prize Foundation, Yaghi first proposed using molecular building blocks and strong bonds to form crystalline materials in the early 1990s. At the time, the scientific community considered this idea chemically unfeasible, as such syntheses typically resulted in non-crystalline, amorphous solids. However, in 1995, Yaghi successfully crystallized metal-organic structures in which metal ions are connected by charged organic linkers, such as carboxylates, via strong bonds. This breakthrough led to the development of a new class of materials known as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), marking the birth of reticular chemistry.
Metal-organic frameworks
Yaghi's most recognized work is in the design, synthesis, application, and popularization of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). According to IUPAC, MOFs are a subclass of coordination polymers, a category first reported in 1959. Earlier work included E. A. Tomic's 1965 study on the thermal stability of various coordination polymers and the work of Hoskins and Richard Robson in 1989 on a 3D coordination polymer structure. However, these early coordination polymers were typically frail, disordered structures with poorly defined properties.
In the 1990s, Yaghi made three key breakthroughs that transformed fragile coordination polymers into the architecturally robust, permanently porous MOFs in use today:
The crystallization of metal-organic structures using strong bonds between metal ions and charged organic linkers like carboxylates (1995). The introduction of metal-carboxylate clusters as secondary building units (SBUs), which enabled robust frameworks with permanent porosity, later confirmed by gas adsorption isotherms (1998). The realization of ultra-high porosity with MOF-5 (1999).
The strong bonds in MOFs are fundamental to their structural robustness, ultra-high porosity, and longevity in industrial applications.
Covalent organic frameworks
In 2005, Omar M. Yaghi published the seminal paper on covalent organic frameworks (COFs), reporting the first series of 2D COFs. This work demonstrated the design and synthesis of COFs via condensation reactions of () and 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene (). Powder X-ray diffraction of the highly crystalline products—with empirical formulas (COF-1) and (COF-5)—revealed 2D expanded porous graphitic layers with either staggered (COF-1) or eclipsed (COF-5) structures. These architectures are held together by strong covalent bonds between boron, carbon, and oxygen atoms, creating rigid porous structures with pore sizes ranging from 7 to 27 ångströms. COF-1 and COF-5 exhibit high thermal stability (up to 500–600 °C), permanent porosity, and high surface areas of 711 and 1590 square meters per gram, respectively.
The synthesis of 3D COFs had been hindered by longstanding practical and conceptual challenges until Yaghi's group first achieved it in 2007.
Yaghi also pioneered the design and production of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs). MOFs, COFs, and ZIFs are renowned for their extreme properties, such as very high surface areas (e.g., for MOF-177) and very low crystalline densities (e.g., for COF-108).
Molecular weaving
Yaghi pioneered the field of molecular weaving, achieving the first synthesis of a material (COF-505) woven at the atomic and molecular levels." Weaving of organic threads into a crystalline covalent organic framework ", Science (journal), Retrieved on 16 June 2019." First materials woven at atomic and molecular levels: Weaving a new story for COFs and MOFs ", ScienceDaily, Retrieved on 16 June 2019.
He has led efforts to apply reticular materials in clean energy technologies, including hydrogen and methane storage," Crystal Sponges ", Chemical & Engineering News , 21 January 2002. Retrieved on 12 March 2018." Porous Crystals Soak Up Hydrogen ", Chemical & Engineering News, 19 May 2003. Retrieved on 12 March 2018. carbon dioxide capture," A Better Way to Capture Carbon ", MIT Technology Review, 15 February 2008. Retrieved on 12 March 2018." Super-sized molecular sponges boost carbon capture ", Chemistry World, 7 May 2008. Retrieved on 12 March 2018. and harvesting water from desert air using lowgrade heat." This new solar-powered device can pull water straight from the desert air ", Science Magazine, April 13, 2017. Retrieved on March 10, 2018.
According to a Thomson Reuters analysis, Yaghi was the world's second-most-cited chemist between 2000 and 2010.
Entrepreneurship In 2020, Yaghi founded Atoco, a California-based startup focused on commercializing his advancements in MOF and COF technologies for carbon capture and atmospheric water harvesting.
In 2021, he co-founded a second startup, H2MOF, which applies his discoveries in reticular chemistry to address challenges in hydrogen storage.
Honors and awards
Yaghi has received numerous international awards and medals, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2025), the Albert Einstein World Award of Science (2017), the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2018), the Gregori Aminoff Prize (2019), the VinFuture Prize (2022), and the Science for the Future Ernest Solvay Prize (2024). His key honors include:
1998 Solid State Chemistry Award, American Chemical Society and Exxon Co. 2004 Sacconi Medal, Italian Chemical Society 2007 US Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Award 2007 Materials Research Society Medal 2007 Newcomb Cleveland Prize, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2009 American Chemical Society Chemistry of Materials Award 2009 Izatt-Christensen International Award 2010 Royal Society of Chemistry Centenary Prize 2013 China Nano Award 2015 King Faisal International Prize in Chemistry 2015 Mustafa Prize in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2016 TÜBA Academy Prize in Basic and Engineering Sciences 2017 Spiers Memorial Award, Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Medal of Excellence of the First Order, King Abdullah II 2017 Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry International Award 2017 Bailar Medal in Inorganic Chemistry 2017 Kuwait Prize in Fundamental Sciences 2017 Albert Einstein World Award of Science