Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work in the development of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday.
The winners share 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million) and join the ranks of the world’s most celebrated scientists. According to the award-giving body, their work provides chemists with innovative tools to address some of the most pressing scientific challenges today.
The Chemistry Nobel is the third in this year’s lineup of awards, following those for medicine and physics, in line with tradition. Established by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel in 1901, the prizes recognize achievements in science, literature, and peace, with the economics prize added later by the Swedish central bank. Nobel himself was a chemist, and his inventions, including dynamite, helped build the fortune that funds the prizes.
While chemistry awards are sometimes overshadowed by those in physics, literature, and peace, they have historically recognized groundbreaking discoveries, including nuclear fission, DNA sequencing techniques, and yeast research. Last year, the prize went to U.S. scientists David Baker and John Jumper and Briton Demis Hassabis for advances in protein structure decoding and creation, impacting fields such as drug development.
This year’s recognition underscores the continuing importance of chemistry in shaping solutions for scientific and technological challenges worldwide.
