KACST Celebrates Professor Omar Yaghi, Winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) today celebrated Professor Omar Yaghi, winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Supervisor of the Joint Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Applications between KACST and the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Yaghi is the first Saudi scientist to receive the Nobel Prize, in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the establishment of reticular chemistry and his role in advancing the fields of energy, environment, and advanced materials.
The ceremony, held in the presence of KACST President Dr. Munir bin Mahmoud Eldesouki, underscores the Kingdom’s commitment to honoring its scientific talents and highlighting their achievements on the global stage, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives to promote scientific research as a key pillar for building an innovation-driven knowledge economy.
In his remarks, Professor Omar Yaghi expressed appreciation for the support of the Kingdom’s leadership, noting that it has played a pivotal role in strengthening the research, development, and innovation ecosystem. He emphasized that sustained empowerment and attention have created an enabling environment for scientists to achieve world-class accomplishments. He added that investing in national talent has contributed to building an integrated research ecosystem that positions the Kingdom among leading scientific nations.
He affirmed that scientific collaboration with KACST represents an inspiring model for long-term partnerships and investment in human capital, noting that achievements in advanced materials reflect the transition of science from discovery to impactful real-world applications, one of the most significant transformations shaping the future of global scientific research.
The program also included honoring the winning research teams of the Artificial Intelligence for Materials Discovery Hackathon, organized by KACST in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley and Academy 32. First place was awarded to NajdGenesis-AI for their project, “Saudi generative AI platform to create bio-hybrid CO₂-capture materials optimized for real industrial conditions.”
Second place went to Fabricator.ai for their project on designing, re-engineering, synthesizing, and fabricating MOFs/COFs-based materials, while third place was awarded to Prime-MOF for their project on predicting MOF stability using large language models to support sustainable material discovery.
The celebration concluded with an interactive dialogue session between Professor Yaghi and gifted students and researchers, during which he reflected on milestones in his scientific journey and shared insights that shaped his academic and professional path. He also offered guidance to young researchers, stressing the importance of building a strong scientific foundation early on and continuously developing research skills to enhance readiness to contribute to the future of research and innovation.
