Dr. William M. Hollingsworth
Chemistry Lab & Safety Coordinator/Adjunct Professor
Office: 209 Martin Hall
256-782-5204
whollingsworth@jsu.edu
Dr. Hollingsworth is from Jacksonville AL and was senior class president of Jacksonville High School's graduating class of 2001. A non-traditional student, Dr. Hollingsworth was inspired to go back to college after working in the JSU cafeteria and his interactions there with both students and faculty. After some independent study of the periodic table, he decided to pursue a degree in chemistry, eventually graduating Cum Laude with Special Honors in the Fall 2016. After graduation from JSU, he went on to graduate studies at Auburn University under the supervision of Dr. Ethan Hill, receiving his doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry in the Fall of 2025. When not focused on chemistry or chemical safety, Dr. Hollingsworth enjoys drawing, cooking for friends/family, "playing" the piano, and intoning religious sacred texts, using excel, through text-specific Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, or Sanskrit gematria cyphers.
Courses Taught
Principally the lab and safety coordinator at JSU, Dr. Hollingsworth has taught several lab courses at Auburn University including general chemistry I & II, organic chemistry I & II, and inorganic chemistry I & II labs. As an adjunct professor at JSU, Dr. Hollingsworth has taught CY 107 and 108 (General Chemistry I & II labs) courses and is scheduled to teach a section of CY 105 (General Chemistry I lecture) in the Fall of 2026.
Education
- Jacksonville High School in 1996-2001;
- Bachelor's of Science: (Cum Laude; Special Honors) Jacksonville State University (2012-2016);
- Master's in chemistry: Auburn University (2018-2021).
- Doctorate in Chemistry: Auburn University (2021-2025).
Other Responsibilities
Lab Coordinator responsibilities include organizing the general, organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, and biochemical labs, making sure each is prepared weekly with experiment-specific reagents, proper glassware and equipment. Reviewing/organizing each lab manual is also of high importance to ensure the instructions are comprehensive, including both the lab experiment operations and an explanation of each experiment on the molecular level.
Lab Safety Coordinator responsibilities include: ensuring each student is equipped with the proper PPE (personal protective equipment) specific to their lab section, insuring safety protocol for each chemical used in experiments is accessible both on the chemical labels and the safety data sheets (SDS) found in each lab, maintaining and informing staff and students about the location and function of the eye-wash stations, safety showers, first-aid, spill kits, and extra PPE in each lab. Similarly, the Lab safety coordinator handles the chemical inventory, ensuring everything is separated by hazard class (i.e. oxidizers, corrosives, caustics, and flammable chemicals must all be stored separately) and the proper indexing and disposal of chemical waste.
Academic & Research Interests
Air and moisture free techniques (Schlenk ware and/or glove boxes) becoming a more integral part of chemical research curriculum at the undergraduate level, the fair appropriation of synchrotron beam time to state and/or "less-than-ideally funded" universities, main group (p-block element) catalysis with an emphasis on pnictogen group active sites, bismuthine topological surfaces, and metal-ligand cooperativity with 3d metal/pnictogen or chalcogen active sites.
Publications and Presentations
Hollingsworth, W. M., and E. A. Hill. "Exploring the potential role of heavy pnictogen elements in ligand design for new metal-ligand cooperative chemistry." Journal of Coordination Chemistry 75.11-14 (2022): 1436-1466.
Weerasuriya, P.P., Hollingsworth, W.M., Pokkuluri, R.P., Hill, E.A.. "Cobalt as an Anchor: Acetate and Non-Trigonal Phosphorus Ligand-Assisted Hydroboration." Organometallics...out for review.