# @ucberkeleyofficial on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQIhDc1iQ14
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64635365-ucberkeleyofficial-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/fdf2947767.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-23T01:19:45.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** UC Berkeley (@ucberkeleyofficial) — https://gondola.cc/ucberkeleyofficial

## Caption

Omar Yaghi remembers growing up in the dry city of Amman, Jordan, where he was responsible for collecting his family’s fresh drinking water. “Sometimes, there wasn’t enough,” he said. “So I learned that water is precious.”

Those experiences laid the foundation for his work developing metal-organic frameworks that have revolutionized chemistry, allowed for water to be pulled from dry desert air, and earned him this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The frameworks his research helped develop are porous, sponge-like materials that pack a punch in even the tiniest amount. A one-gram, sugar cube-sized MOF can boast an internal surface area of up to 10,000 square meters — the size of two football fields. 

They’re highly customizable, too. Capable of harvesting water from the desert air, they can also capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The technology is already capturing CO2 from emissions-heavy cement plants before it enters the atmosphere.

Dozens of companies are researching MOFs, with plans in the works to use them to store dangerous chemicals and clean air and water from pollutants. The applications are vast. 

Yaghi’s work is also deeply personal. After moving to the U.S. alone at age 15, he bagged groceries and mopped floors. He put himself through community college and public universities, never losing his passion for the lab.

After winning the Nobel Prize, Yaghi was clear about the role of accessible education: “This recognition is really a testament to the power of the public school system in the U.S.” He also said federal grants directly led to the work that is changing the planet today. 

“Science is an absolute essential part of an enlightened society and building a robust society that improves the quality of life for its people,” he said. “Without funding, you can’t do science. Science costs money. And it’s an investment in our future.”

🔗 Visit the link in our bio to learn more about how Berkeley research is changing the world: berkeley.edu/research-impact

#ResearchWithResults #UCBerkeley

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