U.S. scientist among trio awarded chemistry Nobel for developing new molecular architecture

Three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work developing a new form of molecular architecture.“Through the development of metal-organic frameworks, the laureates have provided chemists with new opportunities for solving some of the challenges we face,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said

Three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work developing a new form of molecular architecture.

“Through the development of metal-organic frameworks, the laureates have provided chemists with new opportunities for solving some of the challenges we face,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

It awarded the prize to Susumu Kitagawa, 74, a professor at Kyoto University in Japan; Richard Robson, 88, of the University of Melbourne, Australia; and Omar M. Yaghi, 60, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Yaghi was born in Jordan to a family of Palestinian refugees. He moved to the United States at age 15 and has become an American citizen.

“I was in love with chemistry from the very beginning,” Yaghi said, according to the university. “I really loved the lab. I disliked class, but I loved the lab.”