“My parents could barely read or write. It’s been quite a journey, science allows you to do it.”
New laureate Omar Yaghi was in the middle of changing flights when we reached him, just after he heard that he had been awarded the 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry.
In this interview we speak about his early life as a refugee in Jordan and the overwhelming draw of the beauty of chemistry: “I set out to build beautiful things and solve intellectual problems.”
Listen now:
All Nobel prize winners deserve our admiration — we at UNHCR wish to congratulate in particular Omar Yaghi, who was awarded the #Nobel prize for chemistry yesterday and who grew up in Jordan in a Palestinian refugee family from Gaza.
Respect.
We are horrified by the recent Israeli bombing of Ahli Arab Hospital in #Gaza City, which was treating patients and hosting displaced Gazans. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed. This is a massacre. It is absolutely unacceptable...
UNICEF strongly condemns the strike on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza with hundreds of civilians reported killed & injured.
We call for the protection of all civilians, including children & the infrastructure they rely on. We need an immediate ceasefire & humanitarian access.