Omar Farha

Key takeaways

Omar Farha belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Omar Farha to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Omar Farha from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Omar K. Farha is the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor and department chair in Chemistry at Northwestern University, an Executive Editor for ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, and Chief Scientific Officer of Numat. His current research spans diverse areas of chemistry and materials science ranging from energy to defense-related challenges. Specifically, his research focuses on the rational design of smart crystalline programmable sponges, also called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for applications sensing, catalysis, storage, separations, and water purification. In 2012, Farha et al. synthesized two MOFs (NU-109 and NU-110) that broke the record for the highest specific surface area. His NU-1501 is the record holder in surface area when all 4 consistency criteria are met. His research accomplishments have been recognized by several awards and honors including a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, the Kuwait Prize, the ACS Award in Inorganic Nanoscience, the Japanese Society of Coordination Chemistry “International award for creative work”, the Royal Society of Chemistry “Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division Early Career” Award, the American Chemical Society “The Satinder Ahuja Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science” and “ACS ENFL Emerging Researcher Award”, and an award established by the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in his honor: the Omar Farha Award for Research Leadership “awarded for stewardship, cooperation and leadership in the finest pursuit of research in chemistry” and given annually to an outstanding research scientist working in the department. Prof. Farha has been named a “Highly Cited Researcher” from 2014 to 2023. Prof. Farha is one of the Top 100 Chemists (#35) in the world (Research.com). Prof. Farha is the co-founder and president of Numat, the first company to commercialized an engineered system-level product enabled by Metal-Organic Framework Materials.

Education Farha earned his A.A. at Fullerton College in 1999, his B.S. in chemistry at University of California, Los Angeles in 2002, and his Ph.D. in 2006 under the advisement of M. Frederick Hawthorne. He subsequently trained as a post-doc with Joseph T. Hupp at Northwestern.

Publications K. B. Idrees, Z. Li, H. Xie, K. O. Kirlikovali, M. Kazem-Rostami, X. Wang, X. Wang, T-Y. Tai, T. Islamoglu, J. F. Stoddart, R. Q. Snurr and O. K. Farha, “Separation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Porous Materials,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 144, 12212–12218. DOI:10.1021/jacs.2c03114. X. Gong, K. Gnanasekaran, K. Ma, C. J. Forman, S. Su, X. Wang, O. K. Farha and N. C. Gianneschi, “Rapid Generation of Metal-Organic Framework Phase Diagrams by High-Throughput Transmission Electron Microscopy,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 144, 6674–6680. DOI:10.1021/jacs.2c01095. K. Ma, M. C. Wasson, X. Wang, X. Zhang, K. B. Idrees, Z. Chen, Y. Wu, S-J. Lee, R. Cao, Y. Chen, L. Yang, F. A. Son, T. Islamoglu, G. W. Peterson, J. J. Mahle, and O. K. Farha, “Near-instantaneous catalytic hydrolysis of organophosphorus nerve agents with zirconium-based MOF/hydrogel composites,” Chem Catalysis, 2021, 1, 721-733. DOI: 10.1016/j.checat.2021.06.008. Z. Chen, P. Li, R. Anderson, X. Wang, X. Zhang, L. Robison, L. Redfern, Shinya Moribe, T. Islamoglu, D. Gómez-Gualdrón, T. Yildirim, J. F. Stoddart and O. K. Farha, “Balancing Volumetric and Gravimetric Uptake in Highly Porous Materials for Clean Energy,” Science, 2020, 368, 297-303. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz8881. Y. Chen, P. Li, J. Zhou, C. T. Buru, L. Dordevic, P. Li, X. Zhang, M. M. Cetin, J. F. Stoddart, S. I. Stupp, M. R. Wasielewski, O. K. Farha, "Integration of Enzymes and Photosensitizers in a Hierarchical Mesoporous Metal-Organic Framework for Light-Driven CO2 Reduction," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 1768-1773. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b12828. Z. Chen, K. Ma, J. J. Mahle, H. Wang, Z. H. Syed, A. Atilgan, Y. Chen, J. H. Xin, T. Islamoglu, G. W. Peterson and O. K. Farha, “Integration of Metal-Organic Frameworks on Protective Layers for Destruction of Nerve Agents under Relevant Conditions,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019, 141, 20016-20021. DOI:10.1021/jacs.9b11172. S. Wang, Y. Chen, S. Wang, P. Li, C. A. Mirkin, O. K. Farha, "DNA-Functionalized Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles for Intracellular Delivery of Proteins," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 2215-2219. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b12705. Y. Chen, P. Li, J. A. Modica, R. J. Drout and O. K. Farha, “Acid-Resistant Mesoporous Metal-Organic Framework Toward Oral Insulin Delivery: Protein Encapsulation, Protection & Release,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140, 5678-5681. DOI:10.1021/jacs.8b02089. P. Li, Q. Chen, T. C. Wang, N. A. Vermeulen, B. L. Mehdi, A. Dohnalkova, N. D. Browning, D. Shen, R. Anderson, D. A. Gómez-Gualdrón, J. Jagiello, A. M. Asiri, J. F. Stoddart, O. K. Farha, “Hierarchically engineered mesoporous metal-organic frameworks toward cell-free immobilized enzyme systems,” Chem, 2018, 4, 1022–1034. DOI:10.1016/j.chempr.2018.03.001. P. Li, N. A. Vermeulen, C. D. Malliakas, D. A. Gómez-Gualdrón, A. J. Howarth, B. L. Mehdi, A. Dohnalkova, N. D. Browning, M. O'Keeffe, and O. K. Farha, “Bottom-Up Construction of a Superstructure in a Porous Uranium–Organic Crystal,” Science, 2017, 356, 624-627. DOI:10.1126/science.aam7851. P. Li, S-Y. Moon, M. A. Guelta, L. Lin, D. A. Gómez-Gualdrón, R. Q. Snurr, S. P. Harvey, J. T. Hupp, and O. K. Farha, “Nanosizing a Metal-Organic Framework Enzyme Carrier for Accelerating Nerve Agent Hydrolysis,” ACS Nano, 2016, 10, 9174–9182. DOI:10.1021/acsnano.6b04996. J. E. Mondloch, M. J. Katz, W. C. Isley III, P. Ghosh, P. Liao, W. Bury, G. W. Wagner, M. G. Hall, J. B. DeCoste, G. W. Peterson, R. Q. Snurr, C. J. Cramer, J. T. Hupp, and O. K. Farha, “Destruction Chemical Warfare Agents Utilizing Metal-Organic Frameworks,” Nat. Mater., 2015, 14, 512–516. DOI:10.1038/nmat4238.

References

External links

Omar Farha publications indexed by Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Omar Farha

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Omar Farha claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Omar Farha before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Omar Farha ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Omar Farha

In research: Omar Farha appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Omar Farha in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Omar Farha is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th-century births, American chemists, Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Omar Farha outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Omar Farha in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Omar Farha means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Omar Farha out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Omar Farha in simple terms?

Omar K. Farha is the Charles E. and Emma H.

Why does Omar Farha matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Omar Farha?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Omar Farha.