Nobel Laureate and Alum Omar Yaghi Returns to Capital Region, Inspires Next Generation of Scientists
By Amy Geduldig
ALBANY, N.Y. (Apr. 3, 2026) — Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dr. Omar M. Yaghi returned to New York’s Capital Region today, revisiting the institutions that helped shape his career — Hudson Valley Community College and the University at Albany.
Sharing his inspiring story with the next generation of scientists, Yaghi reflected on his path to the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry — from his arrival in Troy as a teenager from Amman, Jordan, to earning his associate degree at Hudson Valley in 1983 and bachelor’s degree from UAlbany in 1985. Yaghi became a leading figure in the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — materials with transformative applications in clean energy and environmental sustainability.
“If my story proves anything, it is that greatness is not the privilege of a few; it is the possibility within all of us. It grows when opportunity meets determination, and no institution embodies that more than public education. I am deeply grateful to Hudson Valley and to the University at Albany, and to the mentors who shaped me... It is one of the greatest honors of my life to return to you — not just as a scientist, but as someone whose story began right here because someone opened a door. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for welcoming me home,” said Yaghi, who also shared his journey in the latest edition of UAlbany Magazine.
Over the course of a full day of events across both campuses, Yaghi met with students, faculty, elected officials and community members. In the morning, he participated in a welcome reception and town hall at Hudson Valley alongside SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., Hudson Valley President Michael Brophy, UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez and Congressman Paul Tonko. At UAlbany later that afternoon, he delivered the 16th Henry Kuivila Lecture: Reticular Chemistry and AI for the Planet, after which he joined Rodríguez for a public conversation and Q&A.
“We are incredibly proud to welcome Omar Yaghi back to Hudson Valley... Because his story — coming to this country as a young person, starting his education in the Capital Region, and going on to change the world through science — captures exactly why institutions like Hudson Valley exist. And it's also why today matters so much, not just as a celebration of an extraordinary career, but as a moment for our students to see what is possible starting from right where they are,” Brophy said.
“At UAlbany we strive every day to give our students the opportunities, support and resources that they need to unleash greatness. We endeavor to enable our students to unlock that potential and turn it into impact. There is no better representation of that impact than Dr. Yaghi’s career.... We are so proud to count you among our Great Dane and Viking communities,” said Rodríguez, who recently spoke about Yaghi’s inspiring journey in an episode of UAlbany’s podcast The Short Version.
Yaghi shares the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne.