Nobel Chemist Omar Yaghi Takes Full-Time Role at Tsinghua University

Nobel-prize-winning chemist Omar Yaghi left his position at the University of California, Berkeley to become a full-time faculty member at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The appointment was formalized at a ceremony on 3 July, where Yaghi was introduced as the head of a new artificial-intelligence-assisted materials-discovery institute. Yaghi, who previously held an honorary professorship at Tsinghua since 2022, will lead efforts to develop metal-organic framework (MOF) materials that can store gases, harvest water from air, and enable drug delivery.

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Yaghi’s move follows a broader pattern of U.S. scientists seeking opportunities abroad amid reported cuts to federal research grants under the Donald Trump administration. China has intensified recruitment through generous talent-programmes, offering lump-sum payments and monthly allowances to attract foreign researchers. Earlier in the year, France announced similar incentives for U.S. scientists, highlighting a global competition for research talent.

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Tsinghua’s chemistry department chair Lei Liu described the institute’s mission as “to tackle complex problems beyond any single field” and to “bridge Eastern and Western intellectual traditions for the benefit of all humankind.”

Nature

Yaghi’s former company WaHa (water-harvesting) confirmed that its business will continue unchanged, according to co-founder and CEO Frank Ramirez.

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Conversely, Samer Taha, CEO of Atoco (a Yaghi-co-founded venture), said the move will keep Yaghi more involved with the company and “multiply the opportunities for transformative discoveries.”

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Science-policy researcher Marina Zhang suggested that after receiving the Nobel Prize, Yaghi seeks to “build a new paradigm of research by combining AI, chemistry and material sciences.”

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• “The current state of US science is not so encouraging because of the cutting back on grants.” — Omar Yaghi, interview with *Scientific American*

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• “Researchers need to engage with AI models, as a matter of survival of the advanced research system in the US.” — Omar Yaghi, interview with *Scientific American*

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• “Its businesses will be unaffected by his move to China.” — Frank Ramirez, co-founder and CEO, WaHa

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• “His move will multiply the opportunities for transformative discoveries.” — Samer Taha, CEO, Atoco

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• “To tackle complex problems beyond any single field and bridge Eastern and Western intellectual traditions for the benefit of all humankind.” — Lei Liu, chair, Chemistry Department, Tsinghua University

Nature