The winner of the 2025 Albert Einstein World Award of Science is Professor Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, USA. He is also a Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.

Professor Kanatzidis is recognized for his groundbreaking contributions as a pioneer in shaping the field solar photovoltaic materials through his seminal work on halide perovskite semiconductors. He has made fundamental contributions for creating materials enabling key and sustainable energy conversion technologies.

The World Cultural Council (WCC) acknowledges the outstanding contributions of Professor Kanatzidis toward launching the so-called “perovskite era” of high-performance, low-cost, and durable photovoltaic semiconductors as a transformative development in solar energy conversion. Following his historic publication in 2012 where he demonstrated an all-solid-state solar cell based on halide perovskite, hundreds of research groups studying these materials have been established worldwide. His follow up landmark publication in 2014 has led to the development of tandem photovoltaic solar cells with significantly higher efficiencies. WCC jury members noted that Professor Kanatzidis is an undisputed global leader in developing key technologies toward the next generation of solar cells and has played a key role in establishing perovskite halides in photovoltaic applications as a new field of science. His work exemplifies the power of scientific innovation and collaboration to address pressing global challenges, such as climate change and energy sustainability.