Nobel Chemist Omar Yaghi Moves to China to Lead AI Institute as U.S. Funding Falters
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 9
Nobel Chemist Omar Yaghi Moves to China to Lead AI Institute as U.S. Funding Falters
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 9
Summary
Omar Yaghi, who shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has left the University of California, Berkeley for Tsinghua University in Beijing to lead an AI-driven materials discovery institute.
The move comes as the Trump administration continues disrupting U.S. science funding, while China offers international researchers larger budgets and a faster-growing research base.
Tsinghua formally welcomed Yaghi last week, and he framed the post as a chance to pursue science with greater energy, intensity and ambition.
China is already outperforming the U.S. in top chemistry papers, according to AAAS budget analyst Alessandra Zimmermann, underscoring Beijing's push to convert spending into scientific leadership.
The shift also highlights U.S. reliance on foreign-born talent: 3 of America's 6 science Nobel winners last year were immigrants, and émigrés account for 40% of this century's U.S. Nobels in physics, chemistry and medicine.
With Nobel laureates moving East, will the next world-changing materials be discovered in Beijing instead of Berkeley?
Is the global flow of scientific talent a threat to national leadership or key to solving humanity's greatest challenges?
Omar Yaghi Joins Tsinghua: AI, MOFs, and the Global Race for Scientific Talent
Overview
On July 9, 2026, Tsinghua University announced that Nobel Laureate Omar M. Yaghi has joined its faculty full-time, marking a major shift in global scientific leadership. Yaghi, known for his groundbreaking work on Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), moved from the United States to lead a new AI-driven research center in China. This move highlights China's growing investment and strong performance in chemistry, as well as its commitment to advancing science. At Tsinghua, Yaghi will drive innovation in materials science, showing how top talent and resources are shaping the future of global research.