University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumnus Omar M. Yaghi, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of three recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Yaghi received a PhD in chemistry from Illinois in 1990.
Yaghi and his co-recipients, Susuma Kitagawa of Kyoto University and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, are credited with developing metal-organic frameworks that can be used to store toxic gases, catalyze chemical reactions, or to capture carbon dioxide or water from the atmosphere. They are the most recent recipients of the chemistry prize, which has been awarded to 200 laureates since 1901.
Yaghi is one of 12 alumni and 14 faculty at the U. of I. to receive a Nobel Prize, at least six of whom have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Illinois chemistry professor Walter G. Klemperer was his PhD advisor, and Yaghi won the best thesis award from the university in 1990.
“We are so proud of Omar. 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,” said Illinois chemistry professor and department head Catherine J. Murphy. “He carries on a long-standing tradition of excellence in this department.”
“We congratulate professor Yaghi and the other prize winners for groundbreaking work that has boundless potential to benefit communities around the world,” said Illinois Chancellor Charles L. Isbell Jr. “At the core of our mission at Illinois are education and innovation for global impact. Professor Yaghi’s achievements will inspire current and future generations of Illinois alumni who will take what they learn here and go on to not only change the world but change it for the better.”