University of Melbourne professor Richard Robson wins Nobel Prize for chemistry with Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi

A University of Melbourne professor is among a trio of international scientists to win the Nobel chemistry prize for developing a new form of molecular architecture, yielding materials that can help tackle challenges such as climate change and lack of fresh water.

The award committee announced the 2025 recipients were Australia’s Richard Robson, Professor Susumu Kitagawa from Kyoto University in Japan , and Professor Omar Yaghi at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States .

The three laureates worked to create molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow and that can be utilised to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide or store toxic gases.

The committee said some of these materials had a remarkably