Amanda Morris is an American chemist who is the Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellow and professor of inorganic and energy chemistry at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. Her research considers next-generation materials for catalysis and light-harvesting. She was elected chair of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

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 Pennsyl ...

. She moved to

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

for doctoral research, where she worked alongside Gerald Meyer. In 2009, Morris joined

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

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 porous polymers consisting of metal cluster compound, clusters (also known as Secondary Building Units - SBUs) coordinated to organic compound, organic ligands to form one-, two- or three-dimension ...

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

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. Histo ...

at Virginia Tech. She was elected chair of the

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.

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

* * *

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