) is an American chemist

Chemist

A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...

, currently the Jean Stone Professor of Chemistry at University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

. He and his research laboratories design and produce classes of compounds now known as metal-organic framework

Metal-organic framework

Metal-Organic Frameworks are crystalline compounds consisting of metal ions or clusters coordinated to often rigid organic molecules to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures that can be porous. In some cases, the pores are stable to elimination of the guest molecules and can be used for...

s (MOFs), zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), and covalent organic framework

Covalent organic framework

The design and synthesis of crystalline extended organic structures in which the building blocks are linked by strong covalent bonds are core concepts of covalent organic frameworks...

s (COFs). Among MOFs, there are substances with extremely high surface areas ( for MOF-177) and with very low crystalline densities ( for COF-108). He has successfully developed these materials from basic science to applications in clean energy technologies including hydrogen and methane storage, and carbon dioxide capture and storage.

Biography

Yaghi received his PhD in 1990 from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He was an National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...

 Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 (1990–1992) with Professor Richard H. Holm

Richard H. Holm

Richard Hadley Holm , also known as R. H. Holm, is an American inorganic chemist.Professor Holm received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959 under the direction of F. Albert Cotton. After the completion of his degree, he joined the chemistry faculty at Harvard University...

. He was on the faculties of Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

 (1992–1998) and the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 (1999–2006). His early accomplishments in the design and synthesis of new materials have been honored by the Solid State Chemistry Award of the American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society

The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...

 and Exxon Co.

Exxon

Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....

 (1998) and the Sacconi Medal of the Italian Chemical Society (1999). His work on
hydrogen storage

Hydrogen storage

Hydrogen storage describes the methods for storing H2 for subsequent use. The methods span many approaches, including high pressures, cryogenics, and chemical compounds that reversibly release H2 upon heating...

 was recognized by Popular Science

Popular Science

Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...

which listed him among the 'Brilliant 10' scientists and engineers in the United States in 2006, and the US Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Award for outstanding contributions to hydrogen storage (2007). He was the sole recipient of the Materials Research Society Medal for pioneering work in the theory, design, synthesis and applications of metal-organic frameworks and the American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Association for the Advancement of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...

 Newcomb Cleveland Prize

Newcomb Cleveland Prize

The Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is annually awarded to author of outstanding scientific paper published in the Research Articles or Reports sections of Science...

 for the best paper published in Science (2007). He is the recipient of the American Chemical Society Chemistry of Materials Award (2009). He is listed among the top ten most highly cited chemists worldwide (1998–2008).

External links

• The beauty of molecules - an Interview with Omar Yaghi
• Interviews on solving the clean energy problem, from the Royal Society of Chemistry
  Royal Society of Chemistry
  The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...
  
  
• The Yaghi group website.