BS Aquinas College, 1991 
PhD University of Notre Dame,1996 
Postdoctoral Associate University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996-1999 

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 1999-2004
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2004-2008
Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2008-present
Visiting Professor: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 2008 
Director of Graduate Admissions, Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2008-present

Honors and Awards:
National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2001
Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, 2001
Clifford Service Award, 2009
Viers Teaching Award, 2010
Schug Research Award, 2012

Our experimental investigations are aimed at developing a detailed understanding of the interfacial chemical reactions that play a vital role in numerous biological and environmental processes such as catalysis, chemical sensing, cell transport, and respiration. The experiments are facilitated by using functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films to model a variety of important interfacial systems, and by employing molecular beam techniques to precisely control the gas temperature, directionality, and flux onto the surface. The studies are performed in an ultrahigh vacuum environment which allows the isolation of molecule-surface reactions from bulk phase processes, and enables the implementation of a number of surface sensitive analytical techniques to monitor the destruction and formation of interfacial chemical bonds. The experiments help to reveal gas-surface adsorption and reaction probabilities, determine bonding structures and energies, and identify reaction products for model gas-surface interactions. Some of our current research projects include:

• Chemical sensor development through studies of the ways in which hydrogen bonding gases, such as a number of volatile organic compounds, adsorb to specially designed functionalized surfaces.
• Exploration of fundamental reaction mechanisms to provide insight into the ways in which corrosive chemicals bond to, diffuse into, and react at an interface.
• Development of new strategies for chemical warfare agent sensing and destruction.
• Investigation of Chemistry at the Gas-Pulmonary Surfactant Interface to provide a more complete understanding of the toxic health effects associated with a number pollutant gases.

(1) Panayotov, D. A., J. R. Morris, "Uptake of a Chemical Warfare Agent Simulant (DMMP) on TiO2: Reactive Adsorption and Active Site Poisoning," Langmuir, 25, 3652 (2009).

(2) Alexander, W. A., J. R. Morris, D. Troya, "Theoretical study of the stereodynamics of CO collisions with CH3- and CF3-terminated alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers," Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 113, 4155 (2009).

(3) Gordon, W., J.R. Morris, and B.M. Tissue, "Control of Morphology in inert gas condensation of metal oxide nanoparticles," Journal of Materials Science, 44, 4286 (2009).

(4) Alexander, W. A., J. R. Morris, D. Troya, "Experimental and theoretical study of CO collisions with CH3- and CF3-terminated self-assembled monolayers," Journal of Chemical Physics, 130, 84702 (2009).

(5) Panayotov, D.A., Morris, J.R, "Infrared Observation of electrons produced by lattice oxygen extraction: thermal decomposition of a chemical warfare agent simulant on TiO2,"  Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113, 15684 (2009).

(6) Panayotov, D.A., Burrows, S., Mihaylov, M., Hadjiivanov, K. Tissue, B.M., Morris, J.R, "The effect of methanol on the Lewis acidity of rutile TiO2 nanoparticles probed through vibrational spectroscopy of co-adsorbed CO," Langmuir, submitted (2009).

(7) Lu, J, and Morris, J.R, "Gas-Surface Energy Exchange and Thermal Accommodation in Collisions of CO2 and Ar with Methyl, Hydroxyl, and Perfluorinated Self-Assembled Monolayers," PCCP (2009).