Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi among many scientists leaving West for China

Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi is among dozens of scientists and experts who have left the United States and Britain for China in 2026, according to multiple reports. Yaghi, winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry, will head the new AI Chemistry and Materials Research Institute (AIMATRY) at Tsinghua University Source: latimes. He joins a growing list of prominent researchers who cite insufficient funding and lack of opportunities in the West as key reasons for relocating.

Notable departures

Other scientists making the move include:

• Jiang Jianfeng, a semiconductor scientist who became a doctoral supervisor in just 18 months after returning to China Source: scmp.
• Ling Haibin, an AI scientist and former Empire Innovation Professor at Stony Brook University, now at Westlake University Source: scmp.
• Zhu Ziqiang, an electric motor engineering expert who left a four-decade career in Britain for Hong Kong Polytechnic University Source: scmp.

Why they are leaving

Sources point to a challenging research environment in the US and UK. "The current state is not so encouraging because of the cutting back on grants and support of science," Yaghi told Scientific American Source: latimes. The scmp reports that "the prestige of British academia is being marred by shrinking research funding and a complex geopolitical climate." China has been actively recruiting top talent, with Tsinghua and other institutions offering leadership roles and resources Source: latimesSource: scmp.

The trend highlights a significant shift in global scientific talent, as Western scientists face funding cuts and immigration restrictions while China invests heavily in research infrastructure.