Omar M Yaghi, a Nobel Price Laureate in Chemistry, has grown in a crowded home. Yaghi was born in Amman in Jordan in 1965 to parents who were refugees from Palestine
Yaghi, 60, along with Susum Kitagawa and Richard Robson, were announced as the winners of the sought -after prizes at the Nobel Chemical Prize 2025.
These three scientists have won a prize for the development of a new form of molecular architecture and provided materials that can help solve challenges such as climate change and lack of fresh water.
Yaghi became the first Palestinian scientist to win the Nobel Prize and said it was “quite a way”.
Who is Omar M Yaghi?
Yaghi was born and grew up in the Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, the capital of Jordan before he moved to the US when he was 15.
“I was born in a family of refugees and my parents could hardly read or write. My father finished sixth class and my mother couldn’t read or write. It’s quite a way. Science allows you to.
Yaghi said intelligent, talented and qualified people exist everywhere. “Therefore, we should really focus on relaxing their potential by giving them the opportunity,” he said.
These three scientists were recognized as the development of metallic organic frames ”(MFOS) – a construction between molecules that could be used to capture and storage or decompose harmful gases and chemicals.
MFO compared to Hermione Granger Cable
The chairman of the Nobel Prize, who awarded the award, compared the MFO with a seemingly bottomless magic handbag carried by Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series. Another example is Enchanted Carpet Bag Mary Poppins. These containers seem small from the outside, but can hold a surprisingly large amount inside.
The Committee said that Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Yaghi were honored for “pioneering discoveries” that “can contribute to the solution of some of the greatest challenges of humanity”, from pollution to water lack.
How was Yaghi informed about the price?
Yaghi learned that he won when he was traveling from San Francisco to Brussels. When he grabbed his luggage and prepared for a change in flights in Frankfurt, his phone began to buzz from calling from Sweden.
“You can’t prepare for a while,” he said at a press conference. “The feeling is indescribable, but it’s absolutely exciting.”
Science is the largest leveling force in the world.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II II. He congratulated the scientist in the paper on X and wrote: “Proud of Jordan’s scientist Professor Omar Yaghi, for winning the Nobel Prize 2025 in Chemistry. His success is Jordan’s pride”.
Yaghi received a chemistry doctorate at the University of Illinois and is currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
(Tagstotranslate) Omar Yaghi
