Nobel Prize in Chemistry with a strong Brussels connection

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has a remarkable Brussels touch. One of the laureates, Omar Yaghi, has maintained close ties for many years with both the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

Professor emeritus Paul Geerlings (VUB, General Chemistry research group) explains that Yaghi is a member of the International Scientific Committee for Chemistry of the Solvay Institutes. “In that role, he helps set the direction of the renowned Solvay Conferences, which date back to 1911 and have long served as an international meeting place for leading scientists,” says Geerlings.

The connection runs even deeper: in 2021, Yaghi held the Solvay Chair for Chemistry, and in 2024 he received the Ernest Solvay Prize for Chemistry — a prestigious distinction often considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize. Remarkably, fellow Nobel Prize laureate Susumu Kitagawa also received the same award in 2017.

Yaghi, Kitagawa, and British chemist Richard Robson are being honored for their groundbreaking research on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — crystalline, sponge-like structures that can absorb, store, or separate gases and liquids. Thanks to this research, scientists can now design new materials more precisely to address major environmental challenges such as CO₂ storage, water purification, and harvesting water from dry air.

The Nobel Prize may be international, but the connection with Brussels and the Solvay tradition once again shows how deeply Belgian chemistry is rooted in world-class scientific research.

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