Welcome to the Holman Research Group home page.
Research in the Holman lab lies at the intersection of organic, organometallic, and solid-state/materials chemistry. Broadly speaking, our research is focused in two areas: i) molecular recognition, self-assembly, and/or supramolecular chemistry―that is, the designed organization of molecules via non-covalent (i.e. reversible, individually weak) bonds; and ii) crystal engineering―the design and study of molecule-derived crystalline materials via the principles of supramolecular and coordination chemistry. Specific avenues of research can be found on the Research page, but it is true to say that projects in the Holman Group are highly multidisciplinary, allowing students (PhD, undergraduate, and even high school) and post-doctoral researchers to develop expertise in synthetic organic and/or organometallic chemistry, physical organic chemistry, solid-state chemistry, crystallography and X-ray diffraction, various spectroscopic techniques (e.g. NMR, Raman, and, occasionally, more exotic techniques such as neutron scattering), thermal analysis (e.g. tandem TGA-mass spectrometry, DSC), gas sorption, etc. Consult the Research page for more information on specific projects and the availability of research positions.
We are located in the Department of Chemistry at Georgetown University.
We are located in the Department of Chemistry at Georgetown University.
Group News:
May, 2026. Congratulations to Nick Lutz on being selected as a 2026-27 Metropolitan Washington Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (“ARCS MWC”) Foundation Scholar!
January, 2026. Congratulations to Holman group Ph.D. student Nick Lutz being selected as a 2026 recipient of the Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship Award. Nick is now the third such recipient from the Holman group, along with Chris Kane and Ivana Brekalo! Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship | ICDD Graduate Student Award
November, 2025. Check out our collaborative article with the James group of University of Belfast on gas-exclusion zones in Type II porous liquids! As expected, cryptophane hosts yield porous liquids when dissolved in bulky solvents. Check out what was entirely unexpected... Gas exclusion zones in Type II porous liquids | Chemical Science | The Royal Society of Chemistry
August, 2025. Check out the results of Ivana Brekalo's tour de force effort on mechanochemical solid form screening of ZIF syntheses with structure-directing liquid additives. What began here at Georgetown evolved into a many-year effort involving collaborations with the Friščić (McGill/Birmingham) and Arhangelskis (University of Warsaw) groups and Ivana's independent team at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. Mechanochemical Solid Form Screening of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks Using Structure-Directing Liquid Additives | Journal of the American Chemical Society | ACS Publications
January, 2026. Congratulations to Holman group Ph.D. student Nick Lutz being selected as a 2026 recipient of the Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship Award. Nick is now the third such recipient from the Holman group, along with Chris Kane and Ivana Brekalo! Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship | ICDD Graduate Student Award
November, 2025. Check out our collaborative article with the James group of University of Belfast on gas-exclusion zones in Type II porous liquids! As expected, cryptophane hosts yield porous liquids when dissolved in bulky solvents. Check out what was entirely unexpected... Gas exclusion zones in Type II porous liquids | Chemical Science | The Royal Society of Chemistry
August, 2025. Check out the results of Ivana Brekalo's tour de force effort on mechanochemical solid form screening of ZIF syntheses with structure-directing liquid additives. What began here at Georgetown evolved into a many-year effort involving collaborations with the Friščić (McGill/Birmingham) and Arhangelskis (University of Warsaw) groups and Ivana's independent team at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. Mechanochemical Solid Form Screening of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks Using Structure-Directing Liquid Additives | Journal of the American Chemical Society | ACS Publications
