UNC Chemist Frank Leibfarth Wins $250,000 Blavatnik Award for Pioneering PFAS Solutions

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Oct. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Frank Leibfarth, a chemist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named a 2025 Laureate of the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, one of the nation's most significant honors for early-career researchers.

Leibfarth was recognized for his pioneering research in polymer chemistry, where he is developing innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges. His work includes designing new chemical reactions and catalysts to upcycle plastic waste and creating groundbreaking methods to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as "forever chemicals," from water supplies. PFAS are widely used in consumer products and industrial applications, but their persistence in the environment has raised urgent health and ecological concerns. Leibfarth's approach offers a promising path toward safer water and healthier communities.

"Since starting at UNC in 2016, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most talented and ambitious scientists internationally who care deeply about making plastics more sustainable and removing forever chemicals from our environment," said Leibfarth. "The Blavatnik award recognizes their hard work and dedication during their educational journey."

"I am especially proud to receive the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists for work at a state university," Leibfarth continued. "Being able to do groundbreaking research that serves the students and citizens of the state is immensely fulfilling and is a responsibility I take seriously."

The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, presented by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences, celebrate the most innovative scientists aged 42 and younger across the United States. This year, from a pool of 310 nominees representing 161 institutions nationwide, 18 finalists were selected and three Laureates named. Leibfarth is the first UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member to receive this honor.

"We are tremendously proud of Professor Leibfarth for this well-deserved recognition of his groundbreaking work in the chemical sciences," said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. "Being named a Blavatnik laureate is an extraordinary achievement and a historic first for Carolina, reflecting the far-reaching impact of his research and innovation."

Each Laureate receives an unrestricted prize of $250,000, the largest unrestricted scientific prize for early-career scientists in the United States.

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SOURCE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill