Dr Mark Holden

Mark’s research is based on crystallisation. He employs laboratory studies to understand how nucleants promote crystal formation. This research is currently focused on ice nucleation, where this understanding can help to determine why certain aerosol particles are important for cloud ice formation. Other research projects that Mark is involved in include understanding crystal growth. For this research, he uses in situ atomic force microscopy to study this process in real-time with nanometre resolution.

Mark graduated with an MChem in Chemistry from the University of Manchester in 2008. He obtaining a PhD studying the crystal growth of nanoporous materials using atomic force microscopy from the same institution in 2012. He then joined Amec Foster Wheeler as a radiochemist, becoming technical lead for the separation and analysis of actinides. In 2015, Mark joined the University of Leeds as a post-doctoral research fellow, studying the role of topography in heterogeneous nucleation in a collaboration between the School of Chemistry, the School of Physics & Astronomy and the School of Earth & Environment. Mark was appointed as a Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Central Lancashire in 2019.