Nobel Laureate Omar Yaghi Leaves US to Lead AI Materials Institute in China
Yaghi's departure from the US to a full-time role in China reflects the realignment of research talent as American funding declines and Chinese institutions expand their recruitment.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Omar M. Yaghi, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing metal-organic frameworks, has left the United States to become director of the AI Materials Research Institute at Tsinghua University in China. The move comes as US science budgets face cuts under President Trump and China intensifies efforts to attract top researchers. Yaghi had been an honorary professor at Tsinghua since 2022 and is now full-time.
Less than a year after receiving the Nobel Prize, Omar Yaghi has relocated to China to direct a new AI materials lab at Tsinghua University. The move follows budget reductions for US science agencies and a broader exodus of STEM doctorate holders from American institutions, with over 10,000 leaving their jobs since the current administration took office, according to reports. Yaghi, who had been an honorary professor at Tsinghua since 2022, is now a full-time professor and director of the AI Materials Research Institute. He previously co-founded companies focused on water capture and carbon dioxide removal.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.