Andrew Bruce Holmes (born 5 September 1943) is an Australian and British senior research chemist and professor at the Bio21 Institute,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, and the past President of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...

. His research interests lie in the synthesis of biologically-active

natural products A natural product is a natural compound or substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural products can also be prepared by chemical sy ...

(spanning therapeutic materials to new biotechnological probes) and optoelectronic polymers (with applications to

electroluminescent Electroluminescence (EL) is an optical and electrical phenomenon, in which a material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field. This is distinct from black body light emission resulting from ...

flexible displays and

organic solar cells An organic solar cell (OSC) or plastic solar cell is a type of photovoltaic that uses organic electronics, a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules, for light absorption and charge transport t ...

Education

Holmes' undergraduate studies and masters' research were conducted at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

in Australia. Travelling to the UK on a Shell Overseas Science Scholarship, he performed his PhD work at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

under the supervision of Franz Sondheimer.

Career and research

As a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

, Holmes worked on the total synthesis of Vitamin B₁₂ with

Albert Eschenmoser Albert Jakob Eschenmoser (born 5 August 1925) is a Swiss organic chemist, best known for his work on the synthesis of complex heterocyclic natural compounds, most notably vitamin B12. In addition to his significant contributions to the field of ...

. In 1972 he was appointed as a demonstrator to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

where he stayed for 32 years, ultimately as Professor of Organic and

Polymer Chemistry Polymer chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that focuses on the structures of chemicals, chemical synthesis, and chemical and physical properties of polymers and macromolecules. The principles and methods used within polymer chemistry are a ...

, and Director of the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis where he oversaw the founding and initial decade of the Melville Laboratory. Holmes' early work at Cambridge expanded his interest in new techniques for synthesising small molecules that are biologically-active and practically-useful, including

(such as alkaloids) and

peptidomimetic A peptidomimetic is a small protein-like chain designed to mimic a peptide. They typically arise either from modification of an existing peptide, or by designing similar systems that mimic peptides, such as peptoids and β-peptides. Irrespective ...

s. In 1989, during systematic characterisation of a newly synthesised

conductive polymer Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are organic polymers that conduct electricity. Such compounds may have metallic conductivity or can be semiconductors. The biggest advantage of conductive polymers ...

, Chloe Jennings working in Holmes' research group observed that the polymer emitted light when a current was passed through it. An intensive period of research in Holmes' group, and other polymer chemistry groups, led to the discovery of differently-coloured light-emitting polymers that spanned the visible colour spectrum. A subsequent collaboration with physicist

Richard Friend Sir Richard Henry Friend (born 18 January 1953) is a British physicist who was the Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge from 1995 until 2020 and is Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor at the National University of Sing ...

and co-workers at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory revealed the potential of these conjugated polymers for applications such as organic LEDs and

rollable display A flexible display or rollable display is an electronic visual display which is flexible in nature, as opposed to the traditional flat screen displays used in most electronic devices. In recent years there has been a growing interest from nume ...

s. Friend and Holmes co-founded the company Cambridge Display Technology for commercial exploitation of these materials – an early success story of

Silicon Fen Silicon Fen (also known as the Cambridge Cluster) is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large business cluster, cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics and biotechnology, s ...

. In 2004 Holmes returned to his native Australia on a

Federation Fellowship Federation Fellowships are Australian professorial research fellowships that were instigated by the Australian Government as part of its Backing Australia's Ability initiative. They were initially designed to compete with prestigious overseas gran ...

, to lead a group at the newly established Bio21 Institute. He has pursued the application of photovoltaic polymers to solar energy, and was instrumental in forming the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium. He has also continued to develop new syntheses of novel, biologically-useful materials. An example is his groups' synthesis of phosphoinositides,

amphiphilic An amphiphile (from the Greek αμφις amphis, both, and φιλíα philia, love, friendship), or amphipath, is a chemical compound possessing both hydrophilic (''water-loving'', polar) and lipophilic (''fat-loving'') properties. Such a compo ...

phospholipids Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids t ...

situated in the

cell membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment ( ...

, which collaborators at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have used to probe the dynamics of signal transduction (intercellular signalling being an important component of many aspects of cell biology, including that of

tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

). Holmes has served on the editorial or advisory boards of numerous learned scientific journals, including

Organic Letters ''Organic Letters'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in organic chemistry. It was established in 1999 and is published by the American Chemical Society. In 2014, the journal moved to a hybrid open access publishin ...

Chemical Communications ''ChemComm'' (or ''Chemical Communications''), formerly known as ''Journal of the Chemical Society D: Chemical Communications'' (1969–1971), ''Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications'' (1972–1995), is a peer-reviewed scientific ...

and

Angewandte Chemie ''Angewandte Chemie'' (, meaning "Applied Chemistry") is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Wiley-VCH on behalf of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker). Publishing formats include feature-length ...

. In 2006, his 1998 paper on electroluminescent polymers was the most highly cited paper in Angewandte Chemie's 120-year history. By August 2012 he had authored over 490 scientific papers and 52 patent applications. In 2014 he was appointed as President of the

Awards and honours

Holmes was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2000, and Fellow of the

in 2006. In 2003, he received the

Descartes Prize The Descartes Prize was an annual award in science given by the European Union, named in honour of the French mathematician and philosopher, René Descartes. The prizes recognized Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievements Resulting f ...

and in 2012 the Royal Medal of the Royal Society. His formal titles include Chemistry alumnus, Laureate Professor of Chemistry, University of Melbourne; CSIRO Fellow, CSIRO Division of Materials Science and Engineering; Emeritus Professor and Distinguished Research Fellow, Imperial College London;

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

;

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...

;

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering There are almost 900 living fellows of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. The post-nominal is FTSE. The following lists many notable living and deceased Fellows. Post-nominal statistics ;Numbers of active/living Fellows i ...

; and Foreign Secretary and (as of 2014) President of the

. In 2011, he received the

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

's John B Goodenough Award. In 2004 he was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

"for service to science through research and development, particularly in the fields of organic synthesis and polymer chemistry"; and in 2017 was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to science through developments in the field of organic and polymer chemistry as a researcher, editor and academic, and through the governance of nationally recognised, leading scientific organisations. He was awarded the 2021

Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture The Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture of the Australian Academy of Science is awarded biennially to recognise exceptional research by Australian scientists in the physical sciences. Nominations can only be made by Academy Fellows. Recipients Sourc ...

Personal life

Holmes is a keen hillwalker and an enthusiastic aficionado of classical music, from baroque to romantic opera.Margaret Throsby interviews Andrew Holmes
, ABC Radio's Midday Program, 8 August 2012, Australian Broadcasting Corporation/classic During his time in Cambridge he was a member and regular volunteer at St Columba's United Reformed Church. He lives in

and

Lorne, Victoria Lorne is a seaside town on Louttit Bay in Victoria, Australia. It is situated about the Erskine River and is a popular destination on the Great Ocean Road tourist route. Lorne is in the Surf Coast Shire and at the had a population of 1,114 but ...

with his wife Jennifer.

References

External links

List of Royal Society Medalists, 2012
(see also the Royal Medal)
Andrew Holmes' group website at the University of Melbourne
* ttp://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/cc/People/AndrewBHolmes.asp Andrew Holmes' biographical sketch at the Royal Society websitebr>Victorian Organic Solar Cells ConsortiumCSIRO press release: "Australian scientist awarded a Royal Medal from the Royal Society London", July 10, 2012Robyn Williams interviews Andrew Holmes for ABC Radio's The Science Show: "The value of international scientific collaborations", May 5, 2012
(transcript and audio file available for download at link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Andrew Bruce Living people English chemists Australian chemists Academics of Imperial College London Academics of University College London Academics of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Companions of the Order of Australia 1943 births Organic chemists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering University of Melbourne alumni Fellows of the Institute of Physics Alumni of University College London Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Presidents of the Australian Academy of Science