Mississippi Academy of Sciences

Dr. Sarah Morgan is Bennett Distinguished Professor and Associate Director of the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at The University of Southern Mississippi. Her research focuses on polymer behavior at surfaces and interfaces, encompassing bio-inspired polymers and high-performance materials. She is equally passionate about polymer education and development of the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Morgan holds a B.A. from Rice University and a PhD in polymer science from The University of Southern Mississippi. Her doctoral research involved the design of water-soluble polymers to mimic the drag-reducing properties of polysaccharides found in mucins secreted from fish skin cells. Her post-doctoral career started in industry, where she spent 14 years in industrial R&D in engineering thermoplastics at GE Plastics, where she held technical and managerial positions at GE locations around the world. At GE she developed materials and formulations for new products, including cell phone and computers housings; sterilizable medical equipment; optical devices; and high temperature automotive applications.

Morgan returned to Southern Miss as a faculty member in 2003, where she has continued research in both bio-inspired and high-performance materials. The research involves multidisciplinary collaborations with academic, national lab, and industrial research partners, which support student training, internships, and employment. Key efforts include determination of peptide assembly mechanisms at interfaces, synthesis of polymeric mimics of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides, and synthesis of bio-inspired glycopolymers designed to mimic the behavior of natural polysaccharides. Glycopolymer biomaterial application targets include RNA delivery, sensors, drug delivery, water purification membranes, and cell scaffolds. Morgan’s research is funded by NSF, NIH, DoD, and industrial partners. She is Science Director of the state-wide NSF Center for Emergent Molecular Optoelectronics and PI of the multi-investigator Multifunctional Materials to Address Military Engineering U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research collaboration. She is PI of NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Teachers and has led graduate student training programs. Seventeen Ph.D. and 10 M.S. students have graduated under her supervision, and she has mentored research of more than 50 undergraduate students. Morgan holds 9 patents and has over 80 publications.

Morgan is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and a Fellow of the POLY Division of ACS. She is the recipient of Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Outstanding Mentor and Society of Plastics Engineers Education Awards. She is lifetime member of MAS, past Chair of the POLY Division of ACS, and Associate Editor for the Journal of Materials Research.

POSTPONED until the next annual Meeting MAS 88th 2024

TBA