Dr. Yoji Kobayashi is an associate professor of chemistry and chair of the Chemistry Program in the Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST. ​Trained as an inorganic materials chemist, Kobayashi is the lead investigator of the Inorganic Materials and Reactions Group (IMATREAC), a lab specializing in solid state chemistry and catalysis. Prior to KAUST, Kobayashi worked at Kyoto University, Japan from 2010-2021 as an assistant professor, lecturer and associate professor, and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at Berkeley, USA. Professor Kobayashi’s research appears in leading chemistry journals such Nature Materials, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Advanced Materials. In addition to his research pursuits, he is active professionally as an invited speaker and presenter at conferences, workshops and universities in the Kingdom and abroad. Kobayashi is committed to finding solid-state chemistry approaches and solutions that support environmentally-friendly applications for energy and the environment. ​

Professor Kobayashi’s research interests center on solid state chemistry, structural characterization, and heterogeneous catalysis. Kobayashi’s group (IMATREAC) solves chemical conversion problems from unusual perspectives, with a focus on hydrogen manipulation, resulting in the development of new or unorthodox catalytic materials, extending to novel applications and processes. Ongoing research engages both internal and external collaborators to drive research at KAUST; examples include green ammonia production, and green hydrogen production using high-temperature electrolysis.​