RIYADH — King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) honored Saudi scientist Prof. Omar M. Yaghi on Thursday following his receipt of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, recognizing his pioneering contributions to reticular chemistry and advanced materials research.The ceremony was held in the presence of KACST President Dr. Munir Al-Desouqi and marked Yaghi’s distinction as the first Saudi national to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. **media[2654969]** Yaghi serves as supervisor of the Joint Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Applications between KACST and the University of California, Berkeley.KACST said the recognition reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to celebrating national scientific excellence and aligns with Vision 2030 goals to strengthen research, innovation and the knowledge-based economy.In remarks during the ceremony, Yaghi expressed appreciation for the continued support of Saudi leadership, saying it has played a decisive role in building an enabling environment for research, development and innovation.He said sustained investment in national talent has helped establish an integrated research ecosystem that allows Saudi scientists to achieve globally impactful results, particularly in the fields of energy, environment and advanced materials. **media[2654971]** Yaghi highlighted his collaboration with KACST as a model for long-term scientific partnerships, noting that recent progress in advanced materials demonstrates a shift from discovery-driven research toward real-world applications with tangible impact.The event also featured the awarding of research teams that won KACST’s Artificial Intelligence for Materials Discovery Hackathon, organized in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley and Academy 32.The NajdGenesis-AI team won first place for its project on a Saudi generative AI platform to design hybrid bio-materials for carbon dioxide capture optimized for industrial conditions. Second place went to Fabricator.ai for its AI system for designing and manufacturing metal-organic and covalent frameworks, while Prime-MOF placed third for its project using large language models to predict the stability of metal-organic frameworks for sustainable materials discovery.The ceremony concluded with an interactive dialogue session between Yaghi and gifted students and early-career researchers, during which he shared key milestones from his academic journey and offered guidance on building strong scientific foundations and research skills at early stages.