Dear All,

You are most cordially invited to the ICTP Colloquium on "Materials Design for a Sustainable Planet" jointly organised by ICTP and University of Trieste. It will feature a talk by chemistry Nobel laureate Prof. Omar Yaghi on "Covalent Organic Frameworks, Molecular Weaving and AI for the Planet", followed by a panel discussion with Prof. Laura Gagliardi (U. Chicago), Prof. Hexiang Deng (Wuhan U.) and Prof. Paolo Fornasiero (U. Trieste), moderated by Prof. Ralph Gebauer (ICTP). 

The Colloquium will take place today, Wednesday 27 May 2026 in the Budinich Lecture Hall at ICTP at 10:30 hrs CET.

Prof. Yaghi is a University Professor and the James and Neeltje Tretter Professor of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley. He is the Founding Director of the Berkeley Global Science Institute whose mission is to build centers of research in developing countries and provide opportunities for young scholars to discover and learn. 

He is also the Co-Director of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute (Kavli ENSI) focusing on the basic science of energy transformation on the molecular level, the California Research Alliance by BASF (CARA) supporting joint academia-industry innovations, as well as the Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet (BIDMaP) which aims to develop cost-efficient, easily deployable versions of two classes of ultra porous materials – known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) – to help limit and address the impacts of climate change. Prof. Yaghi received the Nobel Price in Chemistry in 2025.

Abstract:

I will first introduce covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as a versatile class of crystalline porous materials that enable precise control over composition, topology, and function. I will highlight how their modular construction provides a powerful platform for designing materials with applications in carbon capture for addressing planetary challenges. Building on this foundation, I will then introduce the concept of molecular weaving within COFs—the deliberate interlacing of organic building units to create extended, ordered structures in which topology itself becomes a design principle. Unlike conventional covalent or supramolecular assemblies, these woven COF architectures gain mechanical robustness, flexibility, and emergent behavior from entanglement at the molecular scale. Finally, I will discuss how artificial intelligence is accelerating the discovery and optimization of these enabling predictive design of structures, properties, and synthesis pathways at unprecedented speed.

Refreshments will be served after the event.

For details,  see link:https://indico.ictp.it/event/11349

Looking forward to your participation.

With best regards, 

Director's Office, ICTP