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York Professor elected President of Royal Society of Chemistry

Posted on 16 June 2015

Sir John Holman, Emeritus Professor in the University of York’s Chemistry Department, has been elected as the next President of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

Teaching Physical Chemistry at York, Sir John is also Senior Adviser in Education at the Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Foundation, Chair of the Salters Institute and a Trustee of the Natural History Museum.

Studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge, Sir John taught in a range of secondary schools and became principal of Watford Grammar School for Boys in 1994. Teaching science to students of all ages, he has created curricula and written books for science learners in the UK and overseas and was Founding Director of the Salters Advanced Chemistry programme.

Joining York in 2000, he was Founding Director of the National Science Learning Centre from 2004 - 2010, and adviser to the English government as National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Director from 2006 - 2010.

Named by the Science Council as one of the 100 Leading, Practicing and Inspirational UK Scientists in 2014, Sir John has been a Trustee and Member of Council of the Royal Society of Chemistry since 2013. 

Sir John said: “I’ve been an enthusiast for chemistry from the age of about 10, and my enthusiasm is undiminished today, so imagine how honoured I am to be elected President of the world’s premier chemistry community. There should be no limit to what the RSC can achieve in advancing chemical science in industry, academia and the public realm.”

The election results will be formally announced at the RSC’s Annual General Meeting in Burlington House, London, on 8 July 2015 at 5pm.

Dr Mark Gronnow, Process Development Unit Manager at York’s Biorenewables Development Centre, has also been elected as a Member of the RSC’s Industry and Technology Division Council. 

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