Sir John Stranger Holman (born 16 September 1946) is an English chemist and academic. He is emeritus professor of chemistry at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

, senior advisor in education at the Gatsby Foundation, founding director of the National STEM Learning Centre, Chair of the Bridge Group, past president of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

(RSC), and of The Association for Science Education (ASE).

Education

Holman was educated at the

Royal Grammar School, Guildford The Royal Grammar School, Guildford (originally 'The Free School'), also known as the RGS, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private selective day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey in England. The school dates its founding to the de ...

, and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree with Honours in 1967.

Career

Holman served as a Headteacher of

Watford Grammar School for Boys Watford Grammar School for Boys (commonly abbreviated as WBGS) is an 11–18 boys partially selective academy in Watford in Hertfordshire, England. The school and its sister school, Watford Grammar School for Girls, descend from a Free School ...

between 1994 and 2000, and was the British government's National STEM Director from 2006 to 2010 (STEM referring to the academic disciplines of

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

). He served as president of the

from 2016 to 2018, and was a trustee of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

(2011–2019). He was the founding director of Salters' Advanced Chemistry programme, and is the author of numerous chemistry textbooks. Holman is author of the ''Good Career Guidance'' report for the Gatsby Foundation, which is the basis for the English government's national strategy for career guidance in schools: ''Careers strategy: making the most of everyone's skills and talents''. He is independent strategic adviser on careers guidance to ministers in the Department for Education. (2021 - ) Holman also authored the ''Good Practical Science'' report and was the lead author of Improving Secondary Science guidance report for the Educational Environment Foundation (2018). He is a member of the Wolfson Foundation's School Panel. (2020)

Awards and honours

Holman was

Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Chris ...

. In 2014 the Royal Society of Chemistry awarded him the

Lord Lewis Prize The Lord Lewis Prize is awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry for distinctive and distinguished chemical or scientific achievements together with significant contributions to the development of science policy. The recipient receives a medal, a c ...

"in recognition of his extensive influence over

chemistry education Chemistry education (or chemical education) is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn ...

policy". Holman was named in 2014 by the

Science Council The Science Council is a UK organisation that was established by Royal Charter in 2003. The principal activity of The Science Council is the promotion of the advancement and dissemination of knowledge of and education in science pure and applie ...

as one of the UK's 100 leading practising scientists, and was the 2014 recipient of the Royal Society's biennial Kavli Education Medal, "in recognition of his significant impact on science education within the UK". He was elected President of the

Yorkshire Philosophical Society The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire. ...

in 2018.

References

1946 births Living people English chemists People educated at Royal Grammar School, Guildford Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Academics of the University of York Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Academics from Bath, Somerset Scientists from Bath, Somerset Knights Bachelor Presidents of the Association for Science Education Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society {{England-scientist-stub