Special plenary session by Professor Susumu KITAGAWA, the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2025, is scheduled in the morning of October 30 (Fri).

Prof. Susumu KITAGAWA

Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2025
For pioneering research on porous coordination polymers (PCPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)

Prof. Susumu KITAGAWA is a Nobel Prize laureate renowned for pioneering research on porous coordination polymers (PCPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). He earned his Ph.D. from Kyoto University, where he is now a Distinguished Professor at KUIAS and iCeMS, and has served as Executive Vice-President for Research Promotion since 2024.

In 1997, he was the first to experimentally demonstrate porosity in metal complexes through gas sorption studies, establishing MOFs as a new class of porous materials. He further discovered flexible MOFs—materials capable of structural transformation in response to external stimuli—opening new possibilities for controllable adsorption, separation, sensing, and catalysis.

His discoveries laid the foundations for one of the fastest-growing fields in materials science. MOFs are now manufactured for gas purification, storage and environmental remediation, and are expected to play a vital role in addressing global challenges in energy efficiency and sustainability.

北川 進（きたがわ すすむ）

多孔性配位高分子(PCP)および金属有機構造体(MOF)の先駆的研究によりノーベル化学賞を受賞。京都大学にて博士号(理学)を取得。現在、京都大学高等研究院(KUIAS)・物質-細胞統合システム拠点(iCeMS)特別教授。2024年より同大学理事・副学長(研究推進担当)。

1997年、気体吸着実験により金属錯体の多孔性を世界で初めて実証し、MOFを新たな多孔性材料として確立。さらに、外部刺激に応じて構造変化する「柔らかいMOF」を発見し、吸着制御・分離・センシング・触媒など幅広い応用への道を開拓。

これらの業績は材料科学における最も成長著しい研究分野の礎となり、MOFは現在、ガス精製・貯蔵、環境浄化等の分野で実用化が進展。エネルギー効率や持続可能性など、地球規模の課題解決への貢献が期待される。

1976 – Ph.D. Student, Prof. Susumu KITAGAWA (right)