On November 22, the 23rd Academic Lecture of Nanjing University's Xianlin Forum was held at the Grand Hall of the Gulou Campus. After a decade apart, Omar M. Yaghi, winner of the 2025 Nobel  Prize in Chemistry, foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, revisited NJU to deliver an academic report titled "AIMATRY: A New Discipline Focused on AI for Materials," sharing his latest research achievements and thoughts.

As a pioneer in reticular chemistry, Professor Yaghi was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Susumu Kitagawa and Richard Robson for developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). His team's MOFs materials have demonstrated revolutionary applications in hydrogen storage, water harvesting in deserts, carbon capture, and other scenarios.

Professor Yaghi's report focused on new explorations at the intersection of artificial intelligence and materials science. At the beginning of his talk, Professor Yaghi shared his growth and educational experiences, as well as his reflections on life and insights, encouraging students to "follow your inner passion" and persistently pursue research directions they truly love.

"I want to introduce you to the most attractive research directions in the future field of chemistry, so you can win the next Nobel," Professor Yaghi humorously remarked. He introduced the series of work that earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: the invention and development of metal-organic frameworks, and recounted the story of NJU alumnus Dr. Li Hailian collaborating with him on important MOFs publications.

During the report, Professor Yaghi also shared his research on a series of new materials including covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and molecular weaving.

Finally, Professor Yaghi systematically explained the concept of the new discipline "AIMATRY": innovatively achieving intelligent connection of "molecules-materials-social applications" through large language models, machine learning, and other artificial intelligence means. He showcased successful cases of his team using ChatGPT fine-tuned models to optimize MOFs' water harvesting performance and using prompt engineering to screen COFs synthesis conditions, laying a solid foundation for the development of the emerging discipline of AIMATRY.

During the discussion session, faculty and students actively raised questions about MOFs' large-scale production, ethical challenges of AI in materials development, and how to overcome low ebbs in scientific research. Professor Yaghi answered each question, emphasizing that "research requires courage to ask questions and persistence in exploration," encouraging young scholars to view the "impossible" as opportunities and challenges, seeking new discoveries through repeated experiments, and achieving the leap from impossible to possible.

Professor Li Shuhua, Dean of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at NJU, chaired the report and presented Professor Yaghi with a commemorative certificate of the "Xianlin Forum," expressing sincere gratitude for his visit and brilliant report.

The report attracted nearly 900 faculty members and students. The entire presentation was fascinating, combining the precise design of reticular chemistry with AI's predictive capabilities, providing a new paradigm for addressing global challenges such as clean energy and environmental remediation. Meanwhile, the integration of "molecular weaving" technology and AI will promote scientific innovation in frontier fields such as carbon neutrality and biomedicine, offering new inspiration for future research methods.

During this trip, Professor Yaghi also revisited the original Chemistry Building and the apartment block where he had lived. In the 1980s, Yaghi came to NJU as a visiting scholar in the research group of Professor You Xiaozeng, a renowned inorganic chemist and Academician of the CAS at the Chemistry Department, establishing good collaborative relationships with group members. In 2015, Professor Yaghi visited NJU and delivered an academic report.

Professor Yaghi revisited the original Chemistry Building (now the Medical School building) to find the laboratory he had used.

Professor Yaghi found the apartment building where he had lived.

Professor Yaghi signing autographs for NJU students.