(MENAFN- Live Mint) Omar M Yaghi, the 2025 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, grew up in a crowded household. Yaghi was born in Amman, Jordan, in 1965 to parents who were refugees from Palestine

Yaghi, 60, along with Susumu Kitagawa and Richard Robson , were announced as the winners of the coveted 2025 Nobel Chemistry Prize on 8 October.

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The three scientists won the Prize for developing a new form of molecular architecture, yielding materials that can help tackle challenges such as climate change and the lack of freshwater.

Yaghi has become the first Palestinian scientist to win the Nobel Prize, and he said it was“quite a journey”.

Who is Omar M Yaghi?

Yaghi was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, Jordan's capital, before moving to the US when he was 15.

“I was born in a family of refugees, and my parents could barely read or write. My father finished sixth grade, and my mother couldn't read or write. It's quite a journey. Science allows you to do it. Science is the greatest equalising force in the world,” Yaghi said in an interview posted on The Nobel Prize X account.

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Yaghi said smart, talented and skilled people exist everywhere. "That's why we really should focus on unleashing their potential through providing them with opportunity,” he said.

The three scientists were recognised for the development of metal-organic frameworks " (MFOs) - constructions between molecules that could be used to capture and store or break down harmful gases and chemicals.

MFOs compared to Hermione Granger's handbag

The chairperson of the Nobel Prize committee that made the award compared MFOs to the seemingly bottomless magical handbag carried by Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series . Another example might be Mary Poppins' enchanted carpet bag. These containers appear small from the outside but can hold surprisingly large quantities within.

The committee said Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Yaghi were honoured for“groundbreaking discoveries " that“may contribute to solving some of humankind's greatest challenges,” from pollution to water scarcity.

How was Yaghi informed about the Prize?

Yaghi learned that he had won while travelling from San Francisco to Brussels. As he grabbed his luggage and prepared to change flights in Frankfurt, his phone started buzzing with a call from Sweden .

“You cannot prepare for a moment like that," he said at a news conference.”The feeling is indescribable, but it's absolutely thrilling."

Science is the greatest equalising force in the world.

Jordan's King Abdullah II congratulated the scientist in a post on X, writing:“Proud of Jordanian scientist Professor Omar Yaghi, for winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His achievement is Jordan's pride”.

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Yaghi earned his PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois and is currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

(With agency inputs)

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