Amanda Morris is an American chemist who is the Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellow and professor of inorganic and energy chemistry at
Virginia Tech. Her research considers next-generation materials for catalysis and light-harvesting. She was elected chair of the
American Chemical Society Gay and Transgender Chemists and Allies committee in 2021.
Early life and education
Morris was an undergraduate at
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
. She moved to
Johns Hopkins University for doctoral research, where she worked alongside
Gerald Meyer. In 2009, Morris joined
Princeton University and the laboratory of
Andrew B. Bocarsly.
Research and career
Morris makes use of photo-electrochemistry to understand new materials for renewable energy. She has created photosynthetic systems for solar harvesting. Morris has proposed
metal–organic framework
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of compounds consisting of metal ions or cluster compound, clusters coordinated to organic compound, organic ligands to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. The organic ligands included ar ...
s as light harvesters and high surface-area catalysts. Metal organic frameworks are stable solid state organic-inorganic hybrid materials. The high surface areas mean that they can improve their catalytic activity. Her early research looked to understand how to control the optical and electronic properties of metal organic frameworks.
She studied how electrons were transported through metal organic frameworks, and how to design MOFs that showed efficient photo-induced charge transport.
Morris served as co-chair of the
Virginia Tech LGBT Staff Caucus, where she led efforts to expand the university's non-discrimination clause to protect people from gender minorities.
She also led efforts to install gender inclusive restrooms and use preferred names on university records.
Morris was the first academic advisor of
oSTEM
Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Inc., abbreviated oSTEM, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional society dedicated to LGBTQ+ individuals within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) community.
Hist ...
at Virginia Tech.
She was elected chair of the
American Chemical Society Gay and Transgender Chemists and Allies (GTCA) committee in 2021. She was made head of the department of chemistry in 2022. Beyond her own research, she uses her laboratory to enhance the curriculum of the
Roanoke City Public Schools
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...
.
Awards and honors
* Jimmy W. Viers Teaching Award
* Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellow
* Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow
* Inter-American Photochemical Society Young Investigator Award
* John C. Schug Research Award
* Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
* Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow
* NSF CAREER Award Recipient
* Presidential Principles of Community Award
* College of Science Diversity Award
* Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
Selected publications
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*
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Amanda
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American women chemists
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Pennsylvania State University alumni
21st-century American chemists
Virginia Tech faculty
21st-century American women scientists