Professor Omar M. Yaghi, the James and Neeltje Tretter Chair and Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, was awarded the 2024 Balzan Prize by the International Balzan Prize Foundation for his groundbreaking contributions to the discovery and development of nanoporous framework materials, and advancing their applications in carbon capture, hydrogen storage, and water harvesting from desert air.
Yaghi, who is also co-director and chief scientist at Berkeley's Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet, developed foundational design principles and innovative synthetic methods, creating two extensive classes of nanoporous materials: metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These pioneering materials are now at the forefront of global efforts to tackle critical sustainability and environmental challenges facing our planet.
The International Balzan Prize Foundation’s aim is to promote culture, the sciences, and the most meritorious initiatives in the cause of humanity, peace, and fraternity among peoples throughout the world. Currently, four annual awards are made: two in literature, moral sciences, and the arts; and two in the physical, mathematical, and natural sciences, and in medicine. The latest prizewinners, scholars and scientists who have distinguished themselves in their fields on an international level -- of which includes Yaghi, can be found here.
This story was originally posted by UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry as "Omar Yaghi awarded 2024 Balzan Prize."
