‘Wonderful day for Australian science’: Melbourne Uni professor Richard Robson wins Nobel prize
Richard Robson has been honoured for a groundbreaking discovery that could help solve ‘some of humankind’s greatest challenges’.
The University of Melbourne’s Richard Robson has won the Nobel prize for chemistry alongside two other scientists for their groundbreaking research that could help solve “some of humankind’s greatest challenges”.
Professor Robson, who was born in the UK but has taught in Australia since 1966, shares the prize with Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi for developing a new form of molecular architecture called metal-organic frameworks.
Metal-organic frameworks are a new class of solids that have multiple uses including capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from desert air.
The Nobel jury noted that thanks to the trio’s discoveries, chemists had been able to build tens of thousands of different MOFs.
“Some of these may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges,” the jury added.
It listed applications such as “separating PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air”.
To explain the scale of their achievement, Hans Ellegren, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, told reporters: “Imagine that the tools of chemistry could be used to create entirely new materials with unheard of properties.”
‘Spacious crystal’
In 1989, Professor Robson tested using the properties of atoms in a new way using copper ions.
“When they were combined, they bonded to form a well-ordered, spacious crystal,” the jury said. “It was like a diamond filled with innumerable cavities.”
Professor Robson realised the potential of his discovery but the molecular construction was unstable.
It was Professor Kitagawa, from Kyoto University, and Professor Yaghi, from the University of California Berkeley, who provided a “firm foundation” for the building method.
Between 1992 and 2003, working separately, they made a series of revolutionary discoveries.
Professor Kitagawa “showed that gases can flow in and out of the constructions and predicted that MOFs could be made flexible”, said the jury.
Professor Yaghi created “a very stable MOF” and “showed that it could be modified using rational design, giving it new and desirable properties”.
Blue-sky research
University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Emma Johnston congratulated Professor Robson for winning a Nobel prize, the highest possible recognition for his achievements.
“This is the kind of blue-sky research that not many people get the opportunity to explore, and even fewer make the kinds of breakthroughs Professor Robson has achieved,” Professor Johnston said.
“Australia needs to recognise that this long-term fundamental research is what allows us to then translate that research into products, like the ability to store and transfer hydrogen safely.”
Professor Robson has been a lecturer and researcher at the University of Melbourne since 1966. He produced the first metal-organic frameworks in the early 1990s and has continued to explore different forms of metal-organic frameworks ever since.
Among many awards, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022 and had a Professorial Chair at the University of Melbourne named after him in 2024.
University of Melbourne deputy vice-chancellor Mark Cassidy said the Australian research community will be excited for Professor Robson, and for the recognition this award brings to Australian research.
“Professor Robson is a humble man who has achieved this honour by simply doing what he loves – going into the lab every day, talking with students, thinking big chemistry thoughts for decades and running experiments,” Professor Cassidy said.
“He has been a valued member of our School of Chemistry for almost 60 years and has collaborated with and inspired countless academics and students with his wisdom and the wonderful story of how he came to build the first examples of what are now known as metal-organic frameworks.
“This award will no doubt spark a flurry of further research to develop MOFs into products that could be crucial to the renewable energy revolution. This is a wonderful day for Professor Robson and Australian science.”
The Nobel Literature prize will be announced on Thursday, followed by the Nobel Peace prize on Friday.
The Economics prize wraps up the 2025 Nobel season on October 13. The Nobel consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a $1.6m cheque, to be shared if there is more than one winner in a discipline
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