Korea University (KU) to Host Lecture by Nobel Chemistry Laureate Susumu Kitagawa; NIF to Be Held on Oct. 1

[Financial News]  Korea University has invited Susumu Kitagawa, a 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate and distinguished professor at Kyoto University, to examine the potential of advanced materials research in addressing climate change, energy and environmental challenges.
The event also commemorates Kitagawa's appointment as an endowed chair professor at the KU-KIST Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology.
KU said on the 28th that it will hold the 12th Next Intelligence Forum (NIF), featuring Kitagawa as the speaker, on Oct. 1 at Kim Yang-hyun Hall in the university's main auditorium.
Kitagawa will lecture on "Molecular Space Design for a Sustainable and Healthy Future." He is expected to explain how technologies that precisely design spaces and structures at the molecular level can help address global challenges, including climate change, energy problems and environmental pollution.
Kitagawa is a chemist who pioneered research on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and porous coordination polymers (PCPs). He jointly received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Omar M. Yaghi of the University of California-Berkeley and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne for their contributions to the development of MOFs.
MOFs are materials in which metal ions and organic molecules are linked to create structures containing repeating microscopic pores. They can be used in various fields, including gas storage and separation and carbon capture, and are attracting attention as next-generation functional materials. Kitagawa is credited with advancing the concept of porous crystals with flexible structures and expanding their applications to areas such as gas adsorption and separation.
NIF is an academic event hosted by KU as part of its 120th-anniversary program, bringing together Nobel laureates and prominent figures from South Korea and abroad. Through the event, KU plans to expand academic exchanges with world-class researchers and strengthen research cooperation on sustainability and future technologies. The event is sponsored by Centroid Investment Partners.


[email protected] Bomi Lee Reporter