News
November 2023
Omar Farha recognized as Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate for 7th year in a row – Recognizing the true pioneers in their fields over the last decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science™. Of the world’s scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers truly are one in 1,000. click here to see full list
June 2023
2023 UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Commencement Ceremony- Click here to watch Dean Miguel García-Garibay’s introduction and Prof. Omar Farha’s commencement speech to the 2023 UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry graduating class as part of Prof. Omar Farha receiving the 2023 UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Alumni Award!
June 2023
Science Straight Up – With Dr. Omar Farha – “In conjunction with the Telluride Science Research Center, “Science Straight Up” delves into how science impacts our everyday lives. Your hosts, veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis bring talk to some of the TSRC’s leading scientists.” Click here to listen to the latest episode featuring Dr. Omar Farha!
June 2023
Lab Rats to Unicorns – With Dr. Omar Farha- “Lab rats to unicorns is a podcast that aims to demystify the process of creating a great company in the life sciences, biotech, medtech, clean energy, and beyond! Guided by the curious mind of John Flavin.” Click here to listen to the latest episode featuring Dr. Omar Farha!
April 2023
The 2023 Herman Pines award recipient is Prof. Omar Farha of Northwestern University. – The Herman Pines award honors outstanding contributions in the field of catalysis. Herman Pines was an outstanding research scientist in both industry and academia, and his work revolutionized the general understanding of organic chemistry, particularly the chemistry of hydrocarbons interacting with strong acids… Farha’s approach to research is reminiscent of the combination of fundamental and practical catalyst science exemplified by Herman Pines, and for these contributions the Catalysis Club of Chicago is pleased to present the 2023 award to Prof. Omar Farha. read more
April 2023
Clean Up on Planet Earth – Prof. Farha and the Farha Group’s work on water purification has been featured in a new Northwestern Magazine article highlighting NU researchers searching for solutions to environmental problems and developing amazing new ways to help restore our precious planet.
“Contamination in drinking water varies from one city to another, and generic water filters are typically mediocre… MOFs can play a big role because we have the ability to change the components to make them selective for different pollutants.” read more
April 2023
Prof. Omar Farha to receive 2023 UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry Alumni Award – Prof. Farha will accept the award and present the commencement address at the UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 17, 2023.
“UCLA is where aspirations take root, a wellspring of motivation and direction. It holds a special place in my heart and continues to be a home away from home,” Farha said. “I feel immense pride in being a Bruin.” read more
December 2022
ISTC announces “Illinois Researchers to Know 2022” list – Congratulations to Prof. Omar Farha who was recognized by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition as one of the twenty-four “2022 Illinois Researchers to Know”. Since 2018, the ISTC has released an annual survey highlighting and honoring “…researchers that are driving innovation in the state—from those advancing new treatments in medicine, to those revolutionizing sustainability practices and shaping new technologies in the 21st century. Each possessing unique research strengths that illustrate the critical role of Illinois’ university research in the national innovation economy.” read more
November 2022
Omar Farha among 15 Northwestern Chemistry Department members recognized as Highly Cited Researchers according to Web of Science- Recognizing the true pioneers in their fields over the last decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science™. Of the world’s scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers truly are one in 1,000. click here to see full list
May 2022
A Step toward a Circular Economy? – Discarded PET most often ends up in landfills or in the environment because the rate of recycling is low. Omar K. Farha, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA, and colleagues have found that a zirconium-based metal–organic framework material can catalyze the degradation of PET into its monomers. These can then be reused to make high-value PET, allowing the development of a circular economy. read more
April 2022
Northwestern Hosts the Most Professors Ranked in the Top 40 World Wide – According to Research.com’s Rankings of Highly-Cited Chemists, no university in the world has more professors ranked in the top 40 than Northwestern University.
April 2022
NU Researchers first to demonstrate use of metal-organic frameworks to degrade plastics – Northwestern Now “We can do a lot better than starting from scratch when making plastic bottles,” said Omar Farha, a professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. He is the corresponding author of the study. “Our process is much cleaner.” The work was published recently in the journal Angewandte Chemie. read the article
March 2022
Weinberg College Investiture Ceremony of Named Chairholders- Congratulations to Omar Farha, who was honored at the WCAS Investiture Ceremony of Named Chairholders for his most recent award as a Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor in Chemistry.
November 2021
Nanotechnology provides masks that address the Corona virus and chemical warfare gases – Omar Farha, professor of organic-metallic chemistry and principal investigator of the study, says, “The most remarkable feature of this fabric is not only its dual effectiveness against chemical and biological hazards in a short time, but its re-usability several times after being treated and cleaned in a simple way.” read more
November 2021
Omar Farha among 14 Northwestern Chemistry Department faculty recognized as Highly Cited Researchers according to Web of Science- Recognizing the true pioneers in their fields over the last decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science™. Of the world’s scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers truly are one in 1,000. click here to see full list
October 2021
Gov. Pritzker Announces $15.4 Million in Rebuild Illinois Capital Funding to Boost Wet Lab Development including NuMat Technologies and Northwestern University – “Last year, my administration launched a Wet Lab Capital program to meet the technical needs of startups, incubators, and universities across the state,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, after receiving so many brilliant applications from project developers across Illinois, I am excited to announce $15.4 million in grants that is funding $90 million worth of wet lab expansions throughout Illinois…” read more
October 2021
NuMat Technologies Honored by Goldman Sachs for Entrepreneurship – Ben Hernandez, CEO, Among 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs “I’m honored to receive this award on behalf of the incredibly talented NuMat team. True innovation is hard and we’re grateful to Goldman Sachs for recognizing NuMat’s leadership in applying programmable chemistries to solve the problems that matter. We’re excited to continue executing on our vision of using chemistry to deliver transformational solutions that address generational challenges.” read more
October 2021
Versatile fabric is effective against virus that causes COVID-19 – Northwestern Now – The MOF/fiber composite builds on an earlier study in which Farha’s team created a nanomaterial that deactivates toxic nerve agents. With some small manipulations, the researchers were able to also incorporate antiviral and antibacterial agents into the material. read more
August 2021
NuMat Technologies and Sumitomo Chemical Announce Partnership to Develop Chemical Separation Technologies to Drive Industrial Carbon Neutrality- “We are pleased to tackle the emission reduction challenges in the chemical industry with NuMat. This partnership is aligned with our carbon neutral strategy and intentions. We are looking forward to exploring the synergies from working with NuMat, allowing us to accelerate and enhance the discovery, development and delivery of innovative separation solutions that require less energy.” said Junpei Tsuji, Associate Officer, General Manager of Research Planning and Coordination Department at Sumitomo Chemical. read more
August 2021
Northwestern receives DOE funding to study carbon capture systems – Northwestern Now – “Understanding how a sorbent works is fundamentally important for making the next generation of highly selective and stable sorbents for CO2 capture,” said Omar Farha, principal investigator on the project. “We are excited to apply our state-of-the-art experimental and computational tools to tackle this complex challenge.”. read more
July 2021
Farha Group’s Chem Catalysis article discussing MOF/fiber composites for human protection was featured on PHYS.ORG – “We are in the process of optimizing the composite material to be suitable for real-world conditions,” says Farha. “We hope in the future these materials will be commercialized and used to protect human life.” Read more
January 2021
Omar Farha selected as “Featured Innovator” by INVO at Northwestern University – The Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) at Northwestern University has selected Omar Farha as one of its “Featured Innovators” for his work with “perfecting a programmable sponge that enables the separation and storage of gases.” read the article
January 2021
Farha Group paper selected as “hot paper” by Royal Society of Chemistry – “Modulation of crystal growth and structure within cerium-based metal–organic frameworks,” by Farha Group members and alumni including Megan Wasson, Ken-ichi Otake, Xinyi Gong, Annabella R. Strathman, Timur Islamoglu, and Omar K. Farha, has been highlighted by the Royal Society of Chemistry as “interesting and significant research for the crystal engineering community.” read the paper
November 2020
Omar Farha named “highly cited author” by RSC – Omar Farha has been named a “highly cited author” by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), ranking among the top 5% of cited authors across the RSC’s 46 peer-reviewed publications. read more
November 2020
Omar Farha recognized as “Highly Cited Researcher” – Omar Farha is one of fourteen faculty members from Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering recognized as “Highly Cited Researchers” by Clarivate Analytics with multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science. This is the seventh consecutive year Dr. Farha has received this designation. read more
August 2020
Omar Farha featured in a new article from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences’ (WCAS) Perspectives on the Pandemic – In “Fundamental research at Weinberg College paves the way for COVID-19 breakthroughs,” Dr. Farha discusses his work with metal-organic frameworks and their potential applications to create “masks that deactivate viruses on contact.” read more
August 2020
Omar Farha featured in Tribology & Lubrication Technology (TLT) article – In the article, “MOFs for storage of methane and hydrogen,” Dr. Farha touches on his work with a new MOF-based material, its unique properties, and its potential applications. read more
July 2020
Omar Farha featured in ACS Graduate & Postdoctoral Chemist Interview – Prof. Omar Farha is featured in an interview with the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Graduate & Postdoctoral Chemist. In the interview, titled “‘Be Confident; Don’t Be Cocky’: An Interview with Prof. Omar Farha,” Prof. Farha discusses the struggles and opportunities he encountered in his journey through academia (which included quitting business school), his advice for determining which things are urgent or important in terms of time management, and how to be a confident (but not cocky) scientist. read more
July 2020
Omar Farha is featured in Chemistry World’s “Chemists amid Coronavirus” Series – In the article “Chemists amid coronavirus: Omar Farha,” Dr. Farha discusses conducting research during a university shutdown and reopening his laboratory with limited capacity. – read more
June 2020
Omar Farha, research group featured in Physics World – The article, “Ultraporous metal-organic frameworks could make clean energy carriers,” discusses Prof. Omar Farha and his work with aluminum-based metal-organic framework materials and their applications in fuel cell-powered vehicles. read more
June 2020
Farha-led research team develops new method for engineering colloidal crystals – A team of researchers at the International Institute for Nanotechnology led by Profs. Chad Mirkin and Omar Farha have developed a new method for engineering nanoscopic materials known as colloidal crystals, using building blocks with unique properties that may enable advances in medicine, energy, and the environment. read more
May 2020
Omar Farha elected as a Foreign Fellow to the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) – Dr. Farha has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences. EurASc “rewards excellence in science and technology by electing to its Fellowship” and is a fully independent international association of distinguished scholars that aims to recognize and elect to its membership the best European scientists with a vision for Europe as a whole, transcending national borders, and with the aims of strengthening European science and scientific cooperation.
May 2020
Farha Group research featured in Science Friday podcast – Dr. Omar Farha and his research team’s work on virus-deactivating face masks is featured in the latest edition of the Science Friday (“SciFri”) podcast. The segment featuring Dr. Farha’s research begins at 4:43.
May 2020
Omar Farha selected for NSF RAPID grant to develop virus-deactivating mask – A research team led by Associate Professor of Chemistry Omar Farha has received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a chemically modified face mask that can deactivate viruses, including the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. read more
May 2020
Farha Group article featured as “Most read” in Chemistry of Materials – The article, titled “Precise Control of Cu Nanoparticle Size and Catalytic Activity through Pore Templating in Zr Metal–Organic Frameworks” and featuring contributions from Farha Group members Drs. Omar Farha, Timur Islamoglu, Md. Rasel Mian, and Jian Liu and graduate students Louis Redfern and Karam Idrees, is featured as one of the 20 most read articles this month in Chemistry of Materials. read more
April 2020Two Farha Research Group articles featured in Royal Society of Chemistry’s “Most popular 2018-2019 materials chemistry articles” – The articles, titled “Mechanical properties of metal-organic frameworks” and “A porous, electrically conductive hexa-zirconium(iv) metal–organic framework,” are recognized by the Royal Society of Chemistry as “outstanding contributions to the field” published over the last two years. read more
April 2020
Omar Farha’s work featured Chemical and Engineering News (c&en) – Omar Farha is featured in a new c&en article titled “Hydrogen and methane-absorbing MOF boasts impressive combination of properties.” The article focuses on Prof. Farha’s work to develop an aluminum-based sorbent with exceptional gas-storage properties and its applications for clean-burning. read more
April 2020
Omar Farha is featured in a new article on Northwestern New – The article, titled “Gas storage method could help next-generation clean energy vehicles,” focuses on Dr. Farha’s work to synthesize new materials with ultrahigh porosity and surface area for the storage of hydrogen and methane for fuel cell-powered vehicles. read more
April 2020
Omar Farha’s work featured in BBC News article – Omar Farha is featured in a new BBC News article titled “Climate change: ‘Bath sponge’ breakthrough could boost cleaner cars.” The article focuses on Prof. Farha’s work with developing new materials and their potential applications in hydrogen-powered cars. read more
March 2020
Omar Farha’s research featured in National Science Foundation video – “Protecting soldiers from chemical warfare” highlights Dr. Farha’s collaborative work with the United States Army and the National Science Foundation’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) to create military uniforms that protect wearers against chemical weapons. watch the video
February 2020
Omar Farha interviewed for Royal Science of Chemistry Education – In “I want to leave the world in a better state than when I entered it,” Omar Farha discusses his recent work and his goals as a scientist. read more
February 2020
Omar Farha’s research featured in Army Times article – “Army’s new fabric works to destroy nerve agents” highlights Dr. Farha’s collaborative work with the United States Army to create military uniforms that better protect wearers against chemical weapons. The article notes that this research focuses on “[chemicals] the Army sees as not only worth protecting against, but working to destroy.” read more
February 2020
Omar Farha featured in Futurism article– The article, titled “The US Army is developing fabrics that neutralize nerve agents,” focuses on Prof. Farha and his work with the U.S. Army to utilize metal-organic frameworks to coat fabrics to help degrade chemical warfare agents. read more
February 2020
Omar Farha’s research featured in Wired article – “This Cloth Destroys Deadly Nerve Agents in Minutes” highlights Dr. Farha’s collaborative work with the United States Army to create military uniforms that better protect wearers against chemical weapons. read more
January 2020
Omar Farha featured in Physics World article 
– The article, titled “Nanomaterial-coated fabric destroys chemical warfare agents,” focuses on Prof. Farha and his work with zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks to help degrade chemical warfare agents. read more
January 2020
Omar Farha’s research highlighted by Northwestern University in Northwestern Now – “Nanomaterial fabric destroys nerve agents in battlefield-relevant conditions” spotlights Dr. Farha’s work with zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks and their possible applications as featured in his recent article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. read more
January 2020
Omar Farha’s research featured by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – Dr. Omra Farha’s work with metal-organic frameworks and chemical warfare agent degradation, as published recently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, is highlighted on the AAAS’s EurekAlert! platform. read more
December 2019
Omar Farha, Farha Group members featured in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) article – The article, titled “MOFs neutralize nerve agents without needing liquid water,” focuses on Dr. Farha’s work in utilizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to create new materials for “personal protection,” including ones that can deactivate chemical warfare agents. read more
December 2019
Omar Farha ranked as a “top author” on metal-organic frameworks by Microsoft Academic – Omar Farha ranks first for 2019 and second all-time on Microsoft Academic’s list of top authors in the area of metal-organic frameworks based on a variety of factors including citation count, publication count, h-index, and salience. read more
November 2019
Omar Farha awarded the 2019 Kuwait Prize for Applied Sciences – Introduced in 1979, the Kuwait Prize recognizes the lifetime achievements of scientists of Arab descent across the globe. The Kuwait Prize is awarded in five fields, four annually for Arabs (Basic Sciences, Applied Sciences, Economics and Social Sciences, Art and literature), and the fifth in Arabic and Islamic Scientific Heritage – Science, every third year for all nationalities. The awardees receive a cash prize [$130,000], a gold medal, a KFAS shield, and a certificate of recognition. The ceremony will take place in Kuwait, and the award will be presented by HH The Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. read more
November 2019
Omar Farha recognized as a “highly cited researcher” for 2019 by Web of Science – With multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% of citations, Omar Farha has been designated as a “highly cited researcher” by Web of Science. This is the sixth consecutive year that he has been recognized for this achievement. read more
September 2019
Omar Farha awarded the Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry International Award for Creative Work – Omar Farha received the award at the 69th Conference of the Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry held at Nagoya University in recognition of his contributions to “the development of coordination chemistry through outstanding and pioneering works.” read more
September 2019
Omar Farha delivered the 2019 Makhlouf Haddadin Lecture at the American University of Beirut – Omar Farha delivered the Makhlouf Haddadin Lecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon with a focus on his work with metal-organic frameworks and their applications. read more
September 2019
Omar Farha featured in Science article “Crystalline nets harvest water from desert air…”- Omar Farha and his work on using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to detoxify chemical warfare agents are featured in a September 2019 article of Science. The article, titled “Crystalline nets harvest water from desert air, turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel,” explores the potential of MOFs to be used to “[tackle] some of the world’s most pressing problems.” read more
August 2019
Farha science highlight featured on the Advanced Photo Source at Argonne National Laboratory website – The highlight, “Revealing Porous Materials’ Behavior under Pressure,” based on work the Farha Group has completed at Argonne National Laboratory, investigates the compressibility of MOFs. read more
July 2019Omar Farha one of most highly cited authors in Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) Materials portfolio of journals – Omar Farha ranks among the top 5% of highly cited authors for publications between 2016 and 2017 in the RSC’s portfolio, which includes the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Nanoscale, Materials Horizons, Biomaterials Science, Polymer Chemistry, and CrystEngComm. read more
July 2019
NuMat featured as one of “Chicago’s most ambitious startups” – NuMat Technologies is highlighted in an article in Chicago Inno as a company that is “taking a big, ambitious swing at solving hard, complex problems” and “could have [a] massive [impact] on our society and how we live.” read more
July 2019
Farha paper named one of Chemistry of Materials‘s “most highly downloaded” – The article, “Exploring the Role of Hexanuclear Clusters as Lewis Acidic Sites in Isostructural Metal–Organic Frameworks“, was one of the top twenty most downloaded papers for the publication during the month of June. read more
July 2019
Two Farha Research Group articles featured as “Most Downloaded” in Coordination Chemistry Reviews – The articles, “Metal-organic frameworks for heavy metal removal from water” and “Reticular chemistry in the rational synthesis of functional zirconium cluster-based MOFs“, are among the most downloaded articles from Coordination Chemistry Reviews from the last 90 days. read more
June 2019
Farha Research Group papers featured in JACS Highlights: A focus on metal-organic frameworks – Two Farha Research Group papers are featured in JACS Highlights: A focus on metal-organic frameworks: “Reticular Access to Highly Porous acs-MOFs with Rigid Trigonal Prismatic Linkers for Water Sorption” with postdoctoral researcher Dr. Zhijie Chen as first author and “Zirconium-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks for the Removal of Protein-Bound Uremic Toxin from Human Serum Albumin” with visiting scholar Satoshi Kato as first author. read more
May 2019
Omar Farha, Farha Research Group featured in ChemViews article – Omar Farha and his research group are featured in a May 2019 article in ChemViews magazine, titled “Bioelectrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction.” The article highlights the Farha group’s work on utilizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to stabilize enzymes used in carbon fixation processes. read more
May 2019
Farha paper featured as Molecular Systems Design and Engineering most-read – The paper, titled, “Energy-base descriptors to rapidly predict hydrogen storage in metal-organic frameworks,” has been highlighted by the Royal Society of Chemistry as one of the top-ten most read articles from the first quarter of 2019 in its journal, Molecular Systems Design and Engineering. read more
April 2019
Omar Farha, NuMat Technologies featured in PNAS article, “Core Concept: Holey synthetic materials open their pores to medical applications” – Omar Farha and NuMat Technologies are featured in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). In the article, titled “Core Concept: Holey synthetic materials open their pores to medical applications,” Prof. Farha discusses the possibility of utilizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in drug delivery systems. read more
February 2019
Omar Farha featured in c&en article, “MOFs make dialysis more efficient” – Omar Farha and Farha Research Group member Satoshi Kato are featured in a February 2019 article in c&en showcasing their work in using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to trap toxins in the human circulatory system. read more
February 2019
NuMat Technologies, Omar Farha featured in Medill Reports Chicago Article – NuMat Technologies founders Omar Farha and Benjamin Hernandez are featured in an article by Medill Reports Chicago, a media site maintained by graduate students of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. The article focuses on how the work of NuMat Technologies in the field of metal-organic frameworks and nanotechnology is helping to “[tackle] big problems at the smallest possible scale.” read more
February 2019
Farha paper selected as ACS Editors’ Choice – The paper, “DNA-Functionalized MetalOrganic Framework Nanoparticles for Intracellular Delivery of Proteins,” is featured by American Chemical Society (ACS) Publications on its home page as an Editors’ Choice “based on recommendations by the scientific editors of ACS journals from around the world.” read the article or see the full collection of Editors’ Choice articles
January 2019
Army ManTech ramps up MOF production for new filters, textiles – New funding will allow NuMat Technologies partner, the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (RDECOM ECBC), to significantly scale up the production of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a promising substance with the potential to support a range of new products dealing with decontamination and filtration. read more
December 2018
Farha paper selected as HOT paper in Journal of Materials Chemistry A – The paper “Thermally induced migration of a polyoxometalate within a metal–organicframework and its catalytic effects” has been selected for a web collection features all the articles published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A in 2018 marked as HOT, as recommended by referees. read the article see web collection list
December 2018
NuMat Technologies awarded $9 million to develop, manufacture next-gen materials that will sustain the U.S. warfighter – The U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command Chemical and Biological Center (RDECOM C&B Center) has awarded an initial $9 million contract vehicle to NuMat Technologies, Inc., to develop and manufacture next-generation materials that will protect and sustain the warfighter. With this new funding, NuMat will be building the world’s first dedicated, commercial-scale manufacturing site for MOFs and a state-of-the art application development lab for next-generation filtration and purification technologies. read more
December 2018
Farha paper selected as featured article in Polyhedron – The paper, “Adsorptive removal of Sb(V) from water using a mesoporous Zr-based metal–organic framework,” has been recognized by Polyhedron publisher Elsevier as “noteworthy and of particular interest to the Inorganic Chemistry community” and is free to read until February 28, 2019. read the article
December 2018
Farha Paper Among Top Downloaded Articles in Chemistry of Materials – The paper, “Rational Design of Pore Size and Functionality in a Series of Isoreticular Zwitterionic Metal-Organic Frameworks,” is listed as one of the top 20 most downloaded papers for the month of November from among more than 1,000 published papers. read more
November 2018
Farha named a Highly Cited Researcher by Web of Science – With multiple papers ranking in the top 1% by citations in the field of chemistry, Prof. Omar Farha has been named a Highly Cited Researcher in 2018 by research platform Web of Science. Prof. Farha joins a select group of 4,000 researchers across 22 fields recognized for their global influence and impact with this distinction. see full list
October 2018
“You’ve Probably Never Heard of MOFs, but…” – Together with NuMat Technologies co-founders Christopher Wilmer and Benjamin Hernandez, Omar Farha provides readers a brief introduction to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and discusses why they are quickly becoming the “plastics of the 21st century” as a guest expert for Scientific American‘s “Observations.” read more
October 2018
Farha Paper Among Top Downloaded Articles in European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry – The paper, “Adding to the Arsenal of Zirconium-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks: the Topology as a Platform for Solvent-Assisted Metal Incorporation,” is one of the top 20 most downloaded papers published between July 2016 and June 2018.
August 2018
Interview with Voyage Chicago – Omar Farha and the Farha Group were featured in an interview with Voyage Chicago, a media organization. The interview, meant for a general audience, discusses Omar’s professional path at Northwestern and with NuMat Technologies. read more
August 2018
To Save The American Rust Belt, Stop Looking Backward – NuMat Technologies co-founder Benjamin Hernandez published an opinion article on Forbes.com discussing the future of American manufacturing and the value of diversity and global perspectives in a modern economy. read more
August 2018
Farha Interviewed for Northwestern Research Safety Student Initiative Newsletter – Omar spoke with representatives from the Northwestern Research Safety Student Initiative (RSSI), a new graduate student organization promoting lab safety and consistently attentive safety practices. Omar’s interview discussed safety in university labs as well as in industry/workplace settings. The Farha Group maintains a strong commitment to lab safety and is proud to support the efforts of RSSI. read more
July 2018
When Less Is More: Researchers achieve single- or few-atom metal clusters that act as more stable catalysts – “’The more, the merrier’ is true for most occasions, but for catalysts, sometimes having less — or even being single — could be more beneficial.” Farha Group research was featured in the Frontiers in Energy Newsletter. The story was also tweeted by the DOE Science account. read more
July 2018
Farha Paper Among Top Downloaded Articles in Chemistry of Materials – The paper, “Best Practices for the Synthesis, Activation, and Characterization of Metal–Organic Frameworks” is listed as one of the top 20 most downloaded papers in the previous 12 months from among more than 1,000 published papers. read more
June 2018
Uncovering a Missing Link from Methane to Methanol (Argonne National Laboratory News) – Microscopic crystalline structures called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) may provide a way to solve one of the biggest problems in methane functionalization catalysis, an economically important chemical process. A team led by Delferro and Omar Farha, associate professor of chemistry at Northwestern University, has demonstrated a new way to activate methane with MOFs, as a result of their joint efforts in the Inorganometallic Catalyst Design Center, a DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Center. They and seven co-authors recently published their method in Nature Catalysis. read more
Also reported at Chemistry News, Phys.Org
June 2018
How NuMat is Engineering the Building Blocks of the Future, One Molecule at a Time – Bryan Johnson, noted venture capitalist and entrepreneur, wrote an article for Medium about the science of MOFs and their potential applications. Providing an overview of the science behind MOFs as well as the range of applications for their use, the article examines how MOFs could be used to address a wide range of contemporary issues. read more
June 2018
Omar Farha, Liam Palmer, Peter Stair
Dr. Liam Palmer Presented Omar K. Farha Award for Research Leadership – In 2011, Northwestern University Department of Chemistry established the Omar Farha Award for Research Leadership, which is “awarded for stewardship, cooperation and leadership in the finest pursuit of research in chemistry.” This award is given annually to an outstanding research scientist working in the department. This year’s recipient is Dr. Liam C. Palmer, Research Associate Professor in the Stupp Group and Director of Research at the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology.
June 2018
Two Farha Papers Among Most Downloaded Coordination Chemistry Reviews Papers in Last 90 Days – The papers, titled “Metal-organic frameworks for heavy metal removal from water” and “Catalytic degradation of chemical warfare agents and their simulants by metal-organic frameworks” appears on the list of most downloaded articles for the last 90 days for the journal Coordination Chemistry Reviews. see full list
May 2018
Farha Paper Among Most Downloaded ChemComm Papers in 2017 – The paper, titled “From 2-methylimidazole to 1,2,3-triazole: a topological transformation of ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 by post-synthetic modification,” appears on the list of “Most downloaded articles of 2017: Organic and Biological Chemistry” for the journal Chemical Communications. see full list
April 2018
Farha Elected to Malta Conferences Foundation Board of Directors – The Malta Conferences Foundation (MCF), an independent nonprofit, proposes to use science as a bridge to peace in the Middle East. The Foundation hosts biennial conferences, bringing together scientists, academic leaders and government officials from throughout the Middle East and around the world to collaborate on pressing scientific issues. read more
April 2018
Patagonia, Braintree Founder Back $12.4M Round for NuMat Technologies – NuMat Technologies, a Skokie-based advanced materials startup co-founded by Omar Farha, raised a new round of funding to expand its product offerings to Europe and East Asia. The startup raised $12.4 million in a round led by OS Fund, a New York-based VC firm founded by Braintree Founder Bryan Johnson. Other participating investors include Osage University Partners and Tin Shed Ventures, Patagonia’s investment arm, which invests in startups offering solutions to the environmental crisis. read more
Also reported in Business Wire
Also reported in Chemical & Engineering News
Also reported by Institute for Sustainability and Energy (NU)
April 2018
Farha Gives Invited Tutorial at Materials Research Society Spring Meeting – Omar delivered the NM-04 tutorial at the spring meeting on the Materials Research Society on Monday, April 2 in Phoenix, Arizona. Omar’s presentation, “Understanding Porosity and Catalytic Properties of Porous Materials and Nanocomposites,” was attended by approximately 80 people. His was one of 14 tutorial sessions offered to complement the symposium sessions. read more
April 2018
Farha Paper a Top Chemistry of Materials Download in March – The paper “Room Temperature Synthesis of an 8-Connected Zr-Based Metal–Organic Framework for Top-Down Nanoparticle Encapsulation,” published March 14, 2018, was of the top downloaded papers on the journal’s website for the month of March. The paper is a product of the Farha and Hupp research groups. see the full list
April 2018
Congratulations to Louis Redfern for receiving the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research award! The SCGSR program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE laboratory/facility in areas that address scientific challenges central to the Office of Science mission. Louis will travel to Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne, IL) regularly to conduct research for the next year. Louis will work with Dr. Karena Chapman, a chemist in Argonne’s X-ray Science Division while continuing to be advised by Professor Farha. read more
February 2018
Farha Interviewed on First Episode of C&EN Podcast, “Stereo Chemistry” – Metal-organic frameworks are so hot right now, and we wanted to know why. In our very first full-episode of Stereo Chemistry, we talk to Omar Yaghi, who recently earned a share of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry for his MOF work; Omar Farha, who helped build a company around MOFs; and other chemists not named Omar to better understand these materials. Subscribe to Stereo Chemistry now on iTunes, Google Play, or TuneIn. read more
February 2018
Farha Startup Featured in gasworld Magazine The electronics industry is entering a new period of clarity and confidence, gasworld understands, as it converges with conviction on the technology roadmaps of its future. Like most other industries, however, the electronics sector is still under significant pressure to address increased process complexity, performance, and regulatory requirements. read more (subscription required to view online, PDF of article attached here)
January 2018
Farha Paper Among Top 20 Downloads in 2017, Chemistry of Materials – Chemistry of Materials is devoted to the publication of original contributions on forefront, fundamental research at the interface of chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science. Both theoretical and experimental studies which focus on the preparation or understanding of materials with unusual or useful properties are relevant. The 2016 paper titled “Best Practices for the Synthesis, Activation, and Characterization of Metal-Organic Frameworks” (Howarth, A. J.; Peters, A. W.; Vermeulen, N. A.; Wang, T. C.; Hupp, J. T.; Farha, O. K.) is among the 20 most downloaded articles from the journal in 2017.
November 2017
Farha named an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow – American Association for the Advancement of Science awarded the distinction of Fellow to 396 of its members in 2017 in recognition of their contributions to science and technology, scientific leadership and extraordinary achievements across disciplines. read more
November 2017
Farha Named “Highly Cited Researcher” – This award recognizes the top 1% most cited researchers, identifying scientists and academic researchers with exceptional impact. Highly Cited Researchers from Clarivate Analytics is an annual list recognizing leading researchers in the sciences and social sciences from around the world. The final new list contains about 3,400 Highly Cited Researchers in 21 fields of the sciences and social sciences. read more
November 2017
Former Farha Group Postdoc, Ashlee Howarth, Named to Forbes “30 Under 30” list in Science – Howarth creates new materials that can clean up wastewater generated from coal and nuclear power plants. She also develops materials that can detoxify mustard gas, with an aim to decontaminating military equipment and eliminating stockpiles worldwide. She’s currently patenting the process based on her discoveries.– read more
August 2017
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science: “Creating a Molecular Super-Sponge, From the Ground Up” – A new uranium-based metal-organic framework, NU-1301, could aid energy producers and industry. Mother Nature does it every day, but building complex materials from the bottom-up using only simple building blocks is incredibly difficult in the lab. Now, scientists created a structurally complex material using just two types of building blocks. Known as a metal-organic framework (MOF), the new porous. or cage-filled, superstructure called NU-1301 is quite large, with the largest unit cell of any non-biological material. In addition, it is the lowest density MOF reported to date. The low density means the MOF is a highly porous material, like a super sponge, which is great for storage applications including, but not limited to, storage of nuclear waste. read more
April 2017
Farha One of Nine Speakers at TEDx Northwestern – The theme of the event was “The Power of Intention” TEDxNorthwesternU 2017: The Power of Intention encapsulates how intention is a powerful source of creativity and the fuel to manifesting one’s goals and passions at Northwestern and around the world. Explore what it means to act willfully and passionately, what people attribute meaning to and how intent can transform dreams into a tangible reality. read more
March 2017
Farha Recognized with The Satinder Ahuja Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science – The Pittcon Program Committee is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of 15 prestigious awards honoring scientists who have made outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy. Each award was presented in a scheduled symposium during Pittcon, a leading conference and exposition for laboratory science, March 5-9, Chicago, Illinois, McCormick Place West Hall. read more
January 2017
Chemical & Engineering News: “Boron nitride catalyzes olefin hydrogenations” – For the second time in about a month, researchers report that boron nitride, which ranks as a well-known catalyst support, but not as a catalyst, catalyzes industrially important reactions. This time it’s olefin hydrogenation, a reaction used for making fuels and chemicals and for processing foods. The advance may lead to lower-cost, metal-free industrial hydrogenation catalysts. read more
January 2017
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science: “Keep ‘Em Separated” – The metal-organic framework NU-1000 allows separation of toxic furanics from sugars, which is necessary for efficient ethanol production. In creating fuels from the woody materials of plants – the most abundant source of biomass on earth – scientists must separate the desirable sugars from byproduct chemicals including toxins. A team from the University of California at Berkeley, Northwestern University, and Hokkaido University discovered a honeycomb-like structure called NU-1000 that selectively adsorbs toxic furanics, while completely excluding desirable sugars from the same watery mixture. The NU-1000 even works when the sugar is present in several-hundred-fold excess. read more 
Also reported at Phys.org: “Metal-organic framework NU-1000 allows separation of toxic furanics from sugars for efficient ethanol production.”
November 2016
Farha Named “Highly Cited Researcher” – The Highly Cited Researchers website names more than 3,000 researchers with global influence and impact. The list is based on publication and citation figures drawn from Essential Science IndicatorsSM (ESI), a component of the Web of Science™. Among its assorted features and metrics, ESI tracks papers published in the last decade that by citations rank in the top 1% for their respective years of publication in each of 22 main subject fields. These are designated “Highly Cited Papers,” More than 128,000 were identified for the years 2004 to 2014. read more
October 2016
Homeland Security News Wire: “A nerve agent antidote taken before a chemical weapons attack” – Nerve agents are molecular weapons that invade the body and sabotage part of the nervous system, causing horrific symptoms and sometimes death within minutes. Few antidotes exist, and those that do must be administered soon after an attack. Now, scientists are in early-stage development of a potential treatment that soldiers or others could take before such agents are unleashed. read more
October 2016
Chemical & Engineering News: “10 Start-Ups to Watch” – Compressing, storing, and handling gases is so commonplace in industry, by some measures it accounts for 10% of the global energy draw. Yet today’s cylinders are by and large processed, filled, and used much the same as cylinders from earlier generations. A small group of entrepreneurs in a Chicago-area start-up thinks it’s time for a change. NuMat Technologies is betting that modifying the interiors of cylinders and other gas equipment with custom-made nanomaterials known as metal-organic framework compounds, or MOFs, can significantly improve the way gases are stored, separated, and purified. The company’s goal is to offer a safer and less energy-intensive way of handling gases. read more
October 2016
Nanowerk News: “A nerve agent antidote that could be taken before an attack.” – Nerve agents are molecular weapons that invade the body and sabotage part of the nervous system, causing horrific symptoms and sometimes death within minutes. Few antidotes exist, and those that do must be administered soon after an attack. But now scientists report in the journal ACS Nano (“Nanosizing a Metal–Organic Framework Enzyme Carrier for Accelerating Nerve Agent Hydrolysis”) an early-stage development of a potential treatment that soldiers or others could take before such agents are unleashed. read more
Also reported in EurekAlert!: “A nerve agent antidote that could be taken before an attack.”
Also reported in Phys.org: “A nerve agent antidote that could be taken before an attack.”
October 2016
Cosmos Magazine: “Nerve agent antidote ‘vaccine’ may one day protect against attacks.” – Sarin and similar weapons of mass destruction cause horrific symptoms and death, sometimes within minutes. Can an injection prevent these effects? Belinda Smith reports. Researchers in the US, China and Saudi Arabia developed a vehicle that stabilises as otherwise short-lived nerve agent antidote so it can neutralise the effects of the chemicals. The stabiliser – which is a zirconium metal-organic framework, or MOF – was published in ACS Nano. read more
October 2016
Nature Chemistry: “MOFs Move to Market” – Omar Farha (Chief Science Officer & technical founder) and Ben Hernandez (Chief Executive Officer) of NuMat Technologies, talk to Nature Chemistry about the release of one of the first MOF-based commercial products and the challenges the journey posed. read more
October 2016
Chemistry World: “MOFs offer safer toxic gas storage” – US energy technology start-up NuMat has launched one of the first products to make use of metal–organic frameworks (MOF). The firm’s ION-X gas storage cylinders use MOFs to store hazardous gases used in the electronics industry much more safely than conventional pressurised cylinders. ION-X is based on a proprietary set of MOF adsorbents developed by NuMat specifically for gases such as arsine, phosphine and boron trifluoride used in the electronics industry. The new cylinders are already being shipped to customers around the world, who are testing them in electronics manufacturing. read more
October 2016
Chemistry World: “MOF menagerie fuels search for hydrogen storage solution” – In a quest to improve gas storage in hydrogen powered vehicles, researchers in the United States and Saudi Arabia have computationally assessed more than 13,000 metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for their ability to absorb hydrogen at low temperatures. This way, the team found two materials that in experiments turned out to store more hydrogen per volume than is possible by simply compressing the gas. read more
October 2016
Nature Energy: “Hydrogen storage: Cold feat” – Improving on-board hydrogen storage technologies is one of the main challenges associated with the continued development of fuel cell vehicles. Although present technology uses compressed hydrogen gas (CHG) at 700 bar and ambient temperature, using porous materials to cryo-adsorb hydrogen at lower pressures is being explored. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising candidates, but materials with higher volumetric and gravimetric capacity would be preferable. Now, Taner Yildirim, Omar Farha, Jian Zhang, Randall Snurr and colleagues across the US predict that deliverable hydrogen capacities of 57 g L−1 for MOFs should be possible using cryogenic operating conditions, surpassing the value of 37 g L−1 realized in current technology. read more
October 2016
Chemistry World: “The Patriotic Chemist” – When he was growing up in the West Bank in Palestine, Omar Farha wanted to be a pilot, maybe even fly a fighter jet, but his second choice was a chemist. He came to the US right after high school, in the 1990s, and took off down that latter career path after earning his undergraduate and PhD degrees in chemistry in the US. Farha gives the US a lot of the credit for his success, and wants to ensure that other immigrants have the same opportunities. read more
September 2016
Business Wire: “NuMat Technologies, Linde Form Global Partnership to Advance Use of Metal-Organic Frameworks in Gas Separation and Delivery.” – NuMat Technologies, a pioneer in the design and integration of atomically engineered materials into gas delivery, separation and purification systems, and The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company, have announced a collaborative partnership focused on the development of next generation separation and storage technologies that critically depend on material performance. The first of its kind partnership will pursue commercial applications that leverage NuMat’s innovations in Metal-Organic Frameworks (“MOFs”), an emerging class of ultra-high surface area materials which can be programmed to selectively interact with targeted gases and chemicals. read more
September 2016
Chemical & Engineering News: “MOF traps molecules that gum up bioethanol production: Material selectively separates furanics from sugar solutions” – Material selectively separates furanics from sugar solutions. A porous metal-organic framework sorbent could boost the efficiency of ethanol production from cellulosic biomass by trapping compounds that inhibit fermentation, according to a study (Chem. Commun. 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c6cc05864g). read more
September 2016
European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry: “Adding to the Arsenal of Zirconium-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks: the Topology as a Platform for Solvent-Assisted Metal Incorporation” – We perform hypothesis-driven research with very specific goals or applications in mind. Although a large portion of our research is application-based, we often start by tackling fundamental problems to develop materials that can be pushed forward toward an application. We are primarily interested in the synthesis and processing of MOF-based materials for various energy- and defense-related challenges. read more
August 2016
Farha Identified on List of “Must-see presenters” for 2016 ACS National Meeting – C&EN’s curated list of things to do, people to see, and science to learn: His metal-organic framework compounds fight chemical weapons by day and night. Northwestern University (one of 20 highlighted presenters) in preparation for the 2016 ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. read more
August 2016
Northwestern University: Gas Storage Technology: Northwestern Researcher Rewriting the Rules – The Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN) recently sat down with Professor Farha to learn a bit more about the ways in which his research is changing the face of sustainability and energy. read more
August 2016
Omar Farha Gives Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lecturer at August ACS Meeting – Research Professor Omar Farha, an expert on the chemistry of crystalline porous coordination polymers and MOFs, will lecture at the American Chemical Society National Fall Meeting this August hosted in Philadelphia. It is the most prestigious lecture award conferred by the ACS for young investigators. The Kavli lecture series is a result of a collaboration between ACS and The Kavli Foundation, an internationally recognized philanthropic organization known for its support of basic scientific innovation. read more
May 2016
Farha Named the 2016 RSC CrystEngComm Plenary Speaker – Professor Omar Farha has been named the 2016 RSC CrystEngComm plenary lecturer. CrystEngComm is the journal for innovative research covering all aspects of crystal engineering – the design, including synthesis of crystals and crystal growth, synthesis and evaluation of solid-state materials with desired properties. The 3rd Crystal Engineering and Emerging Materials Workshop of Ontario and Quebec (CEMWOQ-3) will be held at the University of Windsor on the weekend of May 14 -15, 2016. The meeting will provide a forum for researchers with broad interests in the fields of Molecular and Molecule-based Materials. read more
May 2016
Frontiers in Energy Research: “Five Cents About Nickel Catalysts” – Affordability is one of the greatest challenges to the spread of catalyst-based energy technologies. The main reason is the reliance on precious metals, such as platinum, whose market value is ~$950 an ounce. In industry, platinum-containing catalysts dramatically enhance the speed of different reactions to make a variety of fuel sources viable for harvesting energy. Scientists at two Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis (CME) and the Inorganometallic Catalyst Design Center (ICDC), have made advancements in developing nickel-based catalysts. Nickel, whose market price of less than $4 a pound, is an attractive alternative to expensive and rare metals. read more
April 2016
Chemistry Views: “Tandem Catalysis with Thin Films” – In nature, complex molecules arise from catalytic enzymatic processes that take place in close proximity to one another. The product from one enzyme-catalyzed transformation can be shunted efficiently to the next enzyme without losses due to dispersal or degradation. One strategy for mimicking this synthetic approach is to incorporate multiple artificial catalysts in one robust structure. Because of their diverse and tunable structures, high surface area, and porous nanoscale channels, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising both as heterogeneous supports and as hosts for the integration of homogeneous catalysts. However, most MOFs contain only a single type of catalytically active site. read more
March 2016
Prof. Farha named to the editorial team of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces – Omar has been named an Associate Editor for the journal ACS Applied Materials & interfaces. Founded in 2009, ACS-AMI is among the American Chemical Society’s fastest growing journals, both in terms of articles published and in terms of measured scientific impact. The journal’s website states that it focuses on “how newly-discovered materials and interfacial processes can be developed and used for specific applications.” Omar continues as an Associate Editor for “Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization.”
February 2016
Chemical & Engineering News: “MOFs That Take the Heat and Keep Working.” – Most of today’s industrial-scale chemical processes are catalyzed by metal or metal oxide particles dispersed on a handful of support materials, such as alumina, silica, and activated carbon. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted interest as catalyst supports, because unlike common supports they can be custom-designed to boost catalyst performance, for example by holding metal atoms on interior surfaces where they can better interact with molecules entering the framework. But most MOFs decompose below 300 °C. read more
January 2016
Farha Named to “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” – The Intellectual Property (IP) and Science business of Thomson Reuters, announces the release of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds,” a citation analysis identifying the scientists—as determined by their fellow researchers—who have made the most significant global impact within their respective field of study. The two-part study includes an 11 year assessment of research paper citations to determine the leaders within 21 broad fields of science and a ranking of 2015’s top scientists or “hottest researchers,” revealing significant growth in cancer genomics and improvements in converting solar cells into renewable energy. read more
Farha Named Highly Cited Researcher by Thompson-Reuters (December 2015)
Prof. Farha to gives 2015 M. Frederick Hawthorne Lecture at UCLA. The title of the Lecture is “Bioinspired Sponges: Functional Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs).” UCLA Event Page (April 2015)
Professor Farha receives RSC Early Career Award – Research Professor Omar Farha is the 2015 Royal Society of Chemistry Early Career Award Winner in the Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division for seminal contributions to the development of catalysis, storage and separations by metal-organic frameworks. (April 2015)
A research team Lead By Professor Farha synthesized and tested a catalyst capable of destroying common toxic nerve agents quickly. Material could be used one day to destroy stockpiles of deadly chemical weapons. (March 2015)
Read the Chemical & Engineering News article
Read the Chemistry World article
Read the ChemViews article
Read the Engadget article
Read the Homeland Security News Wire article
Read the Gizmodo article
Read the Materials Today article
Read the Nature Materials Journal article
Read the Northwestern News story
Read the Physics News article
Read the Phys.Org article
Read the Science article
Read the Science Daily article
Read the SciNews article
Prof. Farha gives the main talk at the annual American Institute of Chemical Engineers/American Chemical Society joint meeting “Bioinspired Sponges: Functional Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)” (January 2015)
2014
Thompson-Reuters – World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds (December 2014)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Additional Advances in CO2 Fixation” (November 2014)
Nature – “Molecular sponges store oxygen” (October 2014)
Associate Editor of Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization, a specialty of Frontiers in Energy Research (2014)
Hupp/Farha Group Student Dana Cao Wins 1st Prize for Perovskite Solar Cells poster at HOPV14. Read more about the meeting (May 2014)
Prof. Omar Farha was one of several speakers at the 4th annual Northwestern Climate Change Symposium, presented by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN). The Symposium took place on May 16th. Learn more. (May 2014)
NuMat Technologies was selected to be a part of The State of Illinois (USA ) delegate for the Japan Nano Tech 2014. (February 2014)
2013
Northwestern University Research Annual Report, “New Materials Lead to New Science, and New Science Leads to New Technology,” page 30 (December 2013)
Cover: O. K. Farha and C. E. Wilmer, “Metal-organic Frameworks,” American Crystallographic Association, 2013, Fall, 3. (Fall 2013)
JACS Spotlight – “Fine-Tuning the Formation of Catalyst-Incorporated Micropores” (August 2013)
Chemical & Engineering News – Porous Organic Polymers Tackle Toxic Pollutants” (August 2013)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Method Adds Metals To Frameworks Selectively” (July 2013)
Chicago Sun-Times – NuMat Wants You To Fill Up Your Car At Home – And Turn America Into An Energy Exporter” (July 2013)
Crain’s Chicago Business – Northwestern nanotech startup lands $2 million” (June 2013)
VC News Daily – NuMat Technologies Closes $2M Seed Round” (June 2013)
Chemistry World – “Sugar solution to toxic gold recovery” (May 2013)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Sugary Structure Has Midas Touch” (May 2013)
International Mining – “A viable alternative to cyanide in gold recovery” (May 2013)
Mother Nature Network – “Clean, cheap method for extracting gold discovered by accident” (May 2013)
Terra Daily – “Making gold green: New non-toxic method for mining gold” (May 2013)
Science Daily – “Making Gold Green: New Non-Toxic Method for Mining Gold” (May 2013)
Evanston Now – “Making gold green: New non-toxic mining technique” (May 2013)
PHYS.ORG – “Alpha-cyclodextrin is the gold medal winner” (May 2013)
Northwestern Research Newsletter – “Promising Startup” (May 2013)
Chemistry Connection – “NuMat Technologies Capitalizes on Success” (April 2013)
Entrepreneur – “Promising Green Startups Attracting Millions From Investors” (April 2013)
CHEM EUROPE – “Gram-scale synthesis of new MOF material promises low-pressure methane storage” (March 2013)
Chemistry Views – “Easing the Pressure on Gas Storage” (March 2013)
Chemistry World – “High-capacity MOF shows clean fuel promise” (March 2013)
Chemistry World – “Removing toxic chemicals with POPs” (March 2013)
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre – Highly Holey: MOFs with Record-Breaking Surface Areas (January 2013)
2012
Nature – “Mega-MOF’s super surface” (November 2012)
McCormick Magazine – “A Tale of Three Companies” (November 2012)
“NuMat Technologies Accepts Its Chicago Innovation Up-and-Comer Award” (October 2012)
EES Blog – “Seminal Database Paves The Way For Future CO2 Capture Materials” (October 2012)
Planet Forward TV – “A Compressed, Natural Alternative at the Gas Pump” (October 2012)
Asharq Al-Awsat – “Research Professor Featured in Arabic Publication” (September 2012)
Popular Science – “Most Convoluted Crystal Ever Made Has Enough Surface Area To Cover A Desk” (September 2012)
R&D Magazine – “Researchers Set World Record for Highest Surface Area Material” (September 2012)
PhysicsToday – “Competition Boosts Clean-Energy Startups” (August 2012)
Chemistry World – “MOFs with Ultrahigh Surface Areas: Is the Sky the Limit?” (August 2012)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Competition Is The Kick That Gets These Entrepreneurs Going” (August 2012)
NASDAQ – “NuMat Technologies at NASDAQ Closing Bell Ceremony” (July 2012)
MarketWatch – “Clean Energy Challenge Winner Takes $100,000 National Clean Energy Competition Title” (June 2012)
FORTUNE Magazine – “Hail to the Champions” (May 2012)
Northwestern News – “Business Pitches Win Big” (April 2012)
Chicago Business – Crain’s Blogs – “Two Midwest startups clean up at Clean Energy Challenge” (March 2012)
Medill Reports – “NU student entrepreneurs win $100,000 clean energy prize” (March 2012)
ISGTW – “Even molecules have their own waltz” (March 2012)
Northwestern Research Newsletter – “Research Video Wins Prize” (February 2012)
Hive76 – “Blender used to Render cover of Nature Chemistry” (February 2012)
Blender Nation – “Blender Used to Make Cover Art for Nature Chemistry” (February 2012)
McCormick News – “Northwestern Research Video Wins Honorable Mention in International Challenge” (February 2012)
Science (podcast) – “2011 Visualization Challenge Winners” (February 2012)
Wired – “The 16 Best Science Visualizations of 2011” (February 2012)
MSNBC – “Scientific Visions that Take the Prize” (February 2012)
ScienceDaily – “One of the Most Porous Materials Ever Discovered” (January 2012)
Journal of Petroleum Technology Online – “Metal Organic Frameworks Show Promise for Storage, Capture, and Separation Applications” (January 2012)
McCormick – Chemical and Biological Engineering Newsletter – “More Promising Natural Gas Storage?” (January 2012)
Trib Local – “Science Connections: Clean” (January 2012)
Medill Reports – “Clean Energy Trust names Northwestern student teams as semifinalists” (January 2012)
Daily Northwestern – “Northwestern teams semifinalists in clean energy competition” (January 2012)
Earth Techling – “May The Best Clean Energy Idea Win” (January 2012)
MRS – “Large Vertices Dramatically Increase the Pore Volume of Metal-organic Frameworks” (January 2012)
2011
New Energy and Fuel – “A Better way to store Gas” (December 2011)
Chemistry World – “Cutting Edge Chemistry in 2011” (December 2011)
Northwestern- “Something New Under the Sun” (November 2011)
Northwestern University-CenterPiece – “MOFs, Volume 11 (1), page 7” (November 2011)
ScienceDaily – “More Promising Natural Gas Storage?” (November 2011)
Oil and Gas Online – “More Promising Natural Gas Storage?” (November 2011)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Dial-A-MOF” (November 2011)
R&D Magazine – “Faster Testing Method For Porous Crystals To Help Gas Storage Tech” (November 2011)
Energy Daily – “More promising natural gas storage?” (November 2011)
McCormick News – “More Promising Natural Gas Storage?” (November 2011)
Futurity – “Algorithm Finds 300 Crystals to Store Methane” (November 2011)
NanoWerk – “New Algorithm Identifies Promising Metal-Organic Frameworks for Natural Gas Storage” (November 2011)
UPI – “Researchers ‘Create’ Crystals by Computer” (November 2011)
R&D Magazine – “Porous Crystals For Natural Gas Storage” (November 2011)
ScienceBlog – “More Promising Natural Gas Storage?” (November 2011)
PhysOrg – “Porous Crystals For Natural Gas Storage” (November 2011)
Supercomputing Online – “New Algorithm Accelerates ‘Thought Experiments’ for More Promising Natural Gas Storage” (November 2011)
The Engineer – “Algorithm said to identify best natural-gas storage materials” (November 2011)
Oil Word – “New Routine Removes Find Bottleneck By Identifying Materials With Promise” (November 2011)
Chemistry World – “Predicting the Perfect MOF” (November 2011)
SpectroscopyNOW – “Designer MOFs: Algorithm Calculates Likely Frameworks “ (November 2011)
Angewandte Chemie International Edition – “Click Chemistry Finds Its Way into Covalent Porous Organic Materials” (November 2011)
Northwestern News Center – “Press Release- More Promising Natural Gas Storage?” (November 2011)
Northwestern University President ,Morton O. Schapiro – “Omar Farha Receives 2011 Safety Award” (October 2011)
Northwestern University Chemistry Department – “The 1st Annual Omar Farha Award for Research Leadership” (October 2011)
ScienceBase – “An inner space odyssey” (October 2011)
NSF International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge – “High density energy storage using self-assembled materials” (September 2011)
Science – “Editor’s Choice-Stuffing your struts” (August 2011)
Crystal Growth & Design – “Structures of the Week” (April 2011)
2010
Nature Chemistry – “Metal–organic frameworks: Model, make, measure” (October 2010)
Chemistry Views – “Metallic Sponge”(September 2010)
Accounts of Chemical research – “August Cover, The cover shows a metal−organic framework” (August 2010)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Novel Redox Couples Could Aid Solar Cells” (April 2010)
2009
Nature Chemistry – “Metal–organic frameworks: Improving pore performance” (February 2009)
Chemistry World – “Magic MOFs” (February 2009)
Chemical & Engineering News – “MOF Housekeeping Improves” (January 2009)
2008
Nature Chemistry – “Gas separation: Marvelous MOFs” (July 2008)
Chemical & Engineering News – “Gravity-purified MOFs” (June 2008)
2007
