Overview

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University), Richard Robson (University of Melbourne) and Omar Yaghi (UC Berkeley) for developing metal-organic frameworks.
• At a Kyoto University press conference, Kitagawa, 74, said he was deeply moved by the recognition and credited supportive research environments and teamwork.
• In an interview, Kitagawa said he wants the materials he helped develop to be used to protect the Earth's environment.
• Japanese coverage highlighted a 2022 study from Kitagawa’s team that efficiently separated water from heavy water, a capability discussed as potentially relevant to handling tritium-related components in treated water at Fukushima Daiichi.
• Kyoto Mayor Koji Matsui called the award a source of civic pride and said it would inspire young people.