Holden Thorp

Herbert Holden Thorp is an American chemist, professor, and entrepreneur. He served as the tenth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thorp assumed the position of chancellor on July 1, 2008, succeeding James Moeser, and, at age 43, was noted at the time as being among the youngest leaders of a university in the United States. At the time of his selection as chancellor, Thorp was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a Kenan Professor of chemistry at the university. Thorp is a 1986 graduate of UNC; he later earned a Ph.D in chemistry from California Institute of Technology, and was a postdoctoral associate at Yale University.