From a refugee family to Nobel Laureate: Omar Yaghi's story

"Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi on how humble beginnings fueled breakthrough science against the climate crisis. Nobel Laureate Dr. Omar Yaghi joins The Take after winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), materials that can capture carbon and store hydrogen. Born to a Palestinian refugee family in Amman, Yaghi tells the story of how hardship shaped his imagination, from getting fresh water only once a week to inventing systems that pull water from desert air."

"In this episode: Dr. Omar Yaghi, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Professor at University of California, Berkeley and Atoco Founder Episode credits: This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li and Melanie Marich with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Tamara Khandaker, Kylene Kiang, Sari el-Khalili and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz and Sari el-Khalili. The Take production team is Marcos Bartolome, Sonia Bhagat, Spencer Cline, Sari el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Kylene Kiang, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K. Li, Melanie Marich, and Noor Wazwaz. Our host is Malika Bilal. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Andrew Greiner is lead of audience engagement. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio."

Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), materials capable of capturing carbon and storing hydrogen. His childhood in Amman as part of a Palestinian refugee family shaped his problem-solving imagination and motivated practical inventions such as systems that extract water from desert air. He serves as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and as founder of Atoco. His work applies porous crystalline materials to climate challenges including carbon removal, clean energy storage, and atmospheric water harvesting for arid regions.

Read at www.aljazeera.com