ACS Award For Research At An Undergraduate Institution

Sponsored by Research Corporation for Science Advancement

Bert E. Holmes is as committed to undergraduate research as his undergraduate research students are committed to him.

He has published 42 papers with 68 undergraduate coauthors since 1980, and his research has been supported for 24 consecutive years by grants from the National Science Foundation. His only sabbatical, in 1990–91, was with the Combustion Research Division at Sandia National Laboratories working for one of his former undergraduate students.

An internationally recognized researcher on gas-phase unimolecular processes, Holmes, 65, uses both experimental and computational approaches to better understand the kinetics and mechanisms of halocarbon molecules involved in climate change.

Though he has carried a heavy teaching course load throughout his career, he consistently devoted time to promoting research at undergraduate institutions, says a colleague. He continues to be heavily involved in efforts to promote the integration of research activities into the undergraduate curriculum, the colleague adds.

Yet another colleague recalls being an undergraduate researcher when Holmes was a graduate student at Kansas State University. Holmes shared important advice both on research and on how to apply for and where to go to graduate school. Since they first met in the early 1970s, “a remarkable number of research students have benefited from their research experiences with professor Holmes,” the colleague says.

Many faculty have also benefited from the booklet Holmes coauthored with Tom Goodwin titled “How to Get Started in Research,” first published by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in 1995. In the mid-1990s, Holmes was a councilor for CUR.

Holmes was born on a small dairy farm in Kansas. He attended the College of Emporia, in Kansas, where in 1970 he earned a B.A. in mathematics and a B.S. in chemistry with a minor in physics. In 1976, he earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Kansas State under the direction of D. W. Setser.

He immediately began his academic career at Ohio Northern University. Holmes moved to Lyon College in 1983 as head of the mathematics and sciences division and as the W. C. Brown Sr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. At Lyon College, he developed a program requiring all would-be science graduates to engage in a significant undergraduate research project, and he integrated research experiences into the traditional chemistry laboratories.

In 1992, he received the Chemical Manufacturers Association Catalyst Award for teaching excellence. In 1998, he moved to the University of North Carolina, Asheville, where he is the first Philip G. Carson Distinguished Chair of Science.

Holmes was invited to speak 12 times at ACS symposia to discuss undergraduate research programs, and he frequently visits colleges as an external evaluator or to conduct workshops on starting and funding undergraduate research programs. From 2008–11, he served as an NSF program officer, promoting the incorporation of research into the undergraduate chemistry curriculum.

Holmes says he believes that “student research with a faculty member is the highest form of pedagogy.” UNC Asheville agrees and in 2006 awarded him its Distinguished Teacher Award.

Holmes will present his award address before the Division of Fluorine Chemistry and the Division of Physical Chemistry.