CV

Vernon R. Morris, Ph.D.

e-mail: vernon.morris@asu.edu

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

1992 – 1994                UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Davis, CA

1991 – 1992                Postdoctoral Fellow, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories,                                                   Livermore, CA

1991                            Ph.D. Geophysical Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

1985                            B.S. Chemistry and Mathematics, Morehouse College

ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYMENT

2020 – present            Director, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University (ASU)

2016 – 2020               Director, NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M)

2014 – 2020               Director, Atmospheric Sciences Program, Howard University

2012 – 2013                Interim Chair, Department of Chemistry, Howard University

2011 – 2020                Professor, Howard University

2006 – 2008                Chair, Department of Chemistry, Howard University

2003 – 2010                Co-Director Laboratory for Molecular Computations and Bioinformatics, National Institutes of Health Research Center for Minority Institutions NIH/RCMI

2001 – 2018                Director, NOAA Center in Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS)

2001 – 2004                Director, Atmospheric Sciences Program, Howard University

2000 – 2005                Director of Howard University Component of the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center

1998 – 2011                Associate Professor, Howard University

1996 – 2001                Deputy Director, Center for the Study Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Atmospheres, Howard University

FACULTY AND ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2021 – present            Associate Faculty, Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology (CGEST), ASU

2020                            Professor, Environmental Sciences and Chemistry, ASU

2020                            Emeritus Professor, Howard University

2014 – 2019                Special Member, Graduate Faculty Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland

2012 – 2018                Graduate Faculty, Department of Geology, UTEP

2012 – 2020               Professor, Howard University

2011 – 2012                Adjunct Faculty, De La Salle University, College of Sciences, Manila, Philippines

2011 – 2020                Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Physics, De La Salle University Manila, Philippines

2009 – 2010                Adjunct Faculty, Environmental Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

1998 – 2011                Associate Professor, Howard University

1994 – 1997                Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Howard University

1988 – 1990                Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, Spelman College

RESEARCH APPOINTMENTS

2020                            Senior Sustainability Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University

2015 — 2018             Fulbright Specialist (Senegal)

2010                            Visiting Scientist, J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, MD

2001 – 2002                Visiting Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, Greenbelt, MD

1999 – 2001                NASA Administrator’s Fellow, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, Greenbelt, MD

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL APPOINTMENTS

National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) (2020 – 2023)

Culture and Inclusion Council, American Meteorological Society (2020 – 2023)

University Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Board of Trustees (2020 – 2023)

American Meteorological Society Council (2020 – 2023)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (2019 – 2021)

American Geophysical Union Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (2019 — 2022)

Department of Energy ARM Science Board (2015 – 2017)

District of Columbia STEM Advisory Council (2011 – 2014)

UNESCO steering committee for the “Application of Remote Sensing for Integrated Management of Ecosystems and Water Resources in Africa”.  This is a subcommittee of the Working Group on Climate Observations in the Gulf of Guinea (2008)

Member, National Academies of Sciences Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) (2005 – 2007)

Member of the NASA Earth Systems Sciences and Applications Advisory Council, (ESSAAC) (2003 – 2005)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

American Meteorological Society (AMS)

International Network on Appropriate Technology (INAT)

National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)

National Society for Black Physicists (NSBP)

National Technical Association (NTA)

Philippine Physics Society (PPS)

RECENT PUBLICATIONS (PAST FIVE YEARS, 83 TOTAL)

Uneven increases in racial diversity of US geoscience undergraduates. Beane, R.J., Baer, E.M.D., Lockwood, R, MacDonald, R. H., McDaris, J. R., Morris, V. R., Villlalobos, I. J., and White L. D.  Commun Earth Environ 2, 126 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00196-6

Combating racism in the geosciences: Reflections from a black professor. Morris, V. R. (2021). AGU Advances, 2, e2020AV000358 2021. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000358

Accuracy assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA-Interim temperature and humidity profiles over the Atlantic Ocean using AEROSE observations.  Bingkun Luo, Peter J. Minnett, Malgorzata Szczodrak, Nicholas R. Nalli, and Vernon R. Morris. Climate 33 (16), 6889 – 6909, 2020

Investigation of the Successive Ozone Episodes in El Paso – Juarez Region in the Summer of 2017 Authors: Nakul Karle, Suhail Mahmud, Ricardo Sakai, Rosa Fitzgerald, Vernon R. Morris, William Stockwell.  Atmosphere 11 (5), 532, 2020

L. Northcross, S. Hsieh, S. Wilson, E. Roper, R. R. Dickerson, P. Norouzi, and V. Morris Monitoring Neighborhood Concentrations of PM2.5 and Black Carbon: When Using Citywide Averages Underestimates Impacts in a Community with Environmental Justice Issues Authors: Environmental Justice 13 (2), 27 – 35, 2020

Nalli, A. Gambacorta, Q. Liu. C. Barnet, C. Tan, F. Iturbide-Sanchez, T. Reale, B. Sun, M. Wilson, L. Borg, and V. Morris Validation of Atmospheric Profile Retrievals from the SNPP NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System. Part 2: Ozone IEEE Transactions of Geoscience and Remote Sensing 56, 1, 598 Jan 2018

Nalli, A. Gambacorta, Q. Liu. C. Barnet, C. Tan, F. Iturbide-Sanchez, T. Reale, B. Sun, M. Wilson, L. Borg, and V. Morris Validation of Atmospheric Profile Retrievals from the SNPP NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System 1. Temperature and Moisture IEEE Transactions of Geoscience and Remote Sensing 56, 1, 180 Jan 2018

Morris and T. Washington The Role of Professional Societies in STEM Diversity Journal of the National Technical Association 87 (1) 22-31, 2017

Nalli, C. D. Barnet, T. Reale, Q. Liu, V. R. Morris, J. R. Spackman, E. Joseph, C. Tan, B. Sun, F. Tilley, L. R. Lueng, and D. Wolfe Tropospheric Moisture Transport Regimes: Saharan Air Layers, Hadley Cells, and Atmospheric Rivers Journal of Hydrometeorology Published online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-16-0163.1, 2017

Jones, E. Igbinigun, Y. Liu, R. Malaisamy, and V Morris Graphene Oxide Functionalize Polyethersulfone Membrane to Reduce Organic Fouling J. Membrane Science 514: 518 – 526, 2016

Lee, D. Hanlon, R. Sakai, V. Morris, B. Demoz, and S. A. Gadsden Development of an Autonomous Unmanned Aerial System for Atmospheric Data Collection and Research SPIE Proceedings of the Advanced Environmental, Chemical, and Biological Sensing Technologies XIII, 96820A (May 9, 2016) http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2224547.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS (PAST FIVE YEARS)

Morris, S. Bililign, and B. Demoz The Hard Truths Redux: Facts, Figures, and Diversions in the Struggle to Broaden Participation in the Atmospheric Sciences Professoriate” 101 AMS Meeting, New Orleans, LA Jan. 7-12, 2021

Morris and L. Williams The Hard Truth: Facts, Figures, and Diversions in the Struggle to “Broaden Participation”100th AGU Meeting, San Francisco, CA Dec 9 — 13, 2019

Yeager and V. R. Morris Radiative Forcing of Aging Saharan Dust Storms Entering the North Atlantic 99th AMS Meeting Phoenix, AZ Jan 6 – 10, 2019

Morris, J. Manswell-Butty, K. Thiero, M. D. Walter Overview and Outcomes of the NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences Weather Camp Program 99th AMS Meeting Phoenix, AZ Jan 6 – 10, 2019

Sakai, V. R. Morris, A. Flores, B. Carroll, V. Caicedo, R. Delgado, B. Demoz, O. Parker, M. Tzortziou, J. T. Sullivan Boat Transect Measurements over the Chesapeake Bay during the OWLETS-2 Campaign 100th AGU Meeting Washington, DC Dec 10-14, 2018

Manswell Butty, V. Morris,T. Adams NCAS-M Experiential Training Program for Rising Sophomores: A Whole Student Approach to Success 100th AGU Meeting Washington, DC Dec 10-14, 2018

Hsieh, V. Morris, A. L. Northcross, S. Wilson, R. R. Dickerson, E. D. Roper, and P. Norouzi Monitoring Concentrations of PM2.5 and Black Carbon in a Neighborhood in Washington, DC: When Using Citywide Averages for Environmental Assessment Underestimates Impacts in a Community 100th AGU meeting Washington, DC Dec 10-14, 2018

Morris and T. Washington How Professional Societies Can Impact Diversity in STEM National Technical Association 89th Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD September 20-22, 2017

Morris, M. Fayissa, N. Greene, S. Abegaz, and J. Tirado Seasonal Mapping of Inhalation-Level Aerosol in Washington, DC 95th AMS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA January 10-15, 2016

R. Nalli, NOAA/NESDIS, College Park, MD; and V. Morris, E. Joseph, C. D. Barnet, Q. Liu, T. Reale, J. W. Smith, A. Gambacorta, C. Tan, B. Sun, F. Iturbide-Sanchez, D. Wolfe, M. Wilson, T. S. King, W. Wolf, and F. Tilley Ship-Based Campaigns Supporting S-NPP CrIS/ATMS Sounder Validation: CalWater/ACAPEX and AEROSE 95th AMS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA January 10-15, 2016

K. Venable and V. Morris Characterizing the Distribution of Water in the Tropospheric Column During the Monsoon Season in the Philippines 95th AMS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA January 10-15, 2016

SELECTED INVITED PANELS AND LECTURES (PAST FIVE YEARS)

2021

“Improving Inclusion in Professional Societies” Invited Speaker at the American Meteorological Society Summer Policy Colloquium August 17, 2021

“Combating Racism in the Geosciences” Invited speaker at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Diversity and Inclusion Discussion, August 5, 2021

Invited panelist at the National Weather Service (NWS) – Academia Partner Roundtable, May 24, 2021

Post-Film Discussion of Can We Talk? 2: White Allyship at NFISH Program Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, May 20, 2021

“Aerosol Research and Jedi Activities in Geoscience” at the Earth and Space Exploration Brown Bag, Arizona State University, April 8, 2021

“The Hidden Influence of Dust” Invited speaker for STEM in the City, March 27, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcJK__fU2lk

“Inclusive Leadership”, Invited Speaker for American Meteorological Society (AMS) Early Career Professionals Leadership Workshop, March 25, 2021

“What is in the Air Around Us?”,Invited Speaker for the OASIS Online Learning Community, Mar 22, 2021

“Racism and Definitions” Invited Panelist for Opening Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) January 25, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzmXgUi4FI8&list=PLSG3ktAvyNY-pRpC54Zslis-oDQOJ51fp&index=10

A Tale of Two Cities: Comparing Lessons Learned from Community Engagement in Geohealth/Environmental Justice Studies in Washington, DC and Gondar, Ethiopia Invited Keynote at the 23rd Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry at the 101st AMS Annual Meeting January 15, 2021 https://youtu.be/6TZfpn5qFAE

2020

Challenges to Achieving Equitable Representation in Geosciences: A View from Within Earth Talks at Penn State University, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute November 23, 2020

Frontiers in Atmospheric Chemistry Seminar Series, MIT Microphysical and Chemical Processes on Saharan Dust Aerosols During Their Atmospheric Life Cycle October 30, 2020

National Academy of Sciences Increasing Diversity and Inclusion for Underrepresented Scholars in Earth Sciences: Addressing an Urgent Challenge; Invited panelist for the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) October 9, 2020

Colorado Local Science Engagement Network (CO-LSEN) and AAAS; A Discussion on Institutional Racism in STEM Challenges of Institutional Racism in STEM (Panel Presentation and Discussion), September 30, 2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Pye3hmLRs)

NWS Summer 2020 Partner Webinar Series: A Change in the Weather: Research and Undergraduate Learning (Panel Presentation and Discussion), August 18, 2020

Ocean STEM Careers, Panel Presentation and Discussion at the 2020 Monterrey Bay Ocean Sciences REU Program Online Professional Development Workshop Series: July 29, 2020

Post-Film Discussion of Can We Talk? 2: White Allyship, Invited Panelist at the SOARS Professional Development Program, July 16, 2020

Sense of Belonging in STEM Careers Panel Presentation and Discussion at the National Hurricane Center Florida Diversity & Inclusion Workshop: June 2, 2020

Microphysical and Chemical Processes on Saharan Dust Aerosols During Their Atmospheric Life Cycle Department of Geoscience, Lehigh. University, February. 27, 2020

2019

Microphysical and Chemical Processes on Saharan Dust Aerosols During Their Atmospheric

Life Cycle Department of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK Dec 3, 2019

A Retrospective on a Decade of Dust Measurements in the Tropical Atlantic: What Have We Learned from AEROSE?University of West Virginia, November 1, 2019.

Microphysical and Chemical Processes on Saharan Dust Aerosols During Their Atmospheric Life Cycle Invited Talk at Colorado State University, October 10, 2019.

Obstacles for Underrepresented POC in STEM and Strategies for Diversifying Geoscience Fields. (Panel Presentation and Discussion) Narraganset Bay, RI May 23-24, 2019

Geosciences Connections Across the Disciplines: Highlights from 15 Years of Inter- and Cross-Disciplinary ConnectionsHoward University Research Retreat, Washington, DC April 9, 2019.

Can We Talk: Difficult Conversations on Race in STEM (Panel Discussant) NOAA 3rd Annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit Silver Spring, MD April 2, 2019

Inhalation-Level Exposures and Challenges to Current Regulatory Monitoring Networks in Washington, DC (for a delegation of Chinese engineers and scientists from Jinan Environmental Protection Agency) UVA Northern Virginia Campus. January 18, 2019.

2018

STEM in the 21st Century: Ensuring That People of Color Will Not Be Left Behind Again (Panel Discussant) Black Male Initiative City Tech, New York, New York November 5-6, 2018

Seasonal Mapping of Inhalation-Level Aerosol in Washington, DC 90th National Technical Association Annual Meeting, Hampton, VA September 26-28, 2018

What Is and Isn’t Working in Diversity Efforts: Time for a Change National Science Foundation GEO Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Workshop National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Boulder, CO, September 13-15, 2018

Reflections on Diversity and Inclusion in Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma September 10, 2018

Warren Washington’s Entrainment Model of Mentoring Warren Washington Legacy Symposium, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA September 5, 2018

Reflections on Boundary Spanning Design (Panel discussant) SESYNC Boundary Spanning: Advances in Socio-Environmental Systems Research International Workshop Annapolis, MD June 11-13, 2018

Sustaining Geoscience Programs at HBCUs (Panel Discussant) Broadening Participation in Geosciences at HBCUs Workshop Greensboro, NC May 15, 2018

Physical Chemical Processes of Saharan Dust Aerosols During Their Atmospheric Life Cycle Chemical Society of Washington, Washington, DC May 10, 2018

2017

The Role Professional Societies in STEM Diversity 89th National Technical Association Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD September 2017

Climate Variability, Public Health, and the Atmospheric Microbiome in the Ethiopian Highlands Scholar on Campus Geophysics Lecture, New York City College of Technology, April 25, 2017

2016

A Retrospective on a Decade of Dust Measurements in the Tropical Atlantic: What Have We Learned from AEROSE?  Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of California Davis December 16, 2016 

Fourteen Years of CAREERS Camps at the NOAA Education Council Meeting, Silver Spring, MD January 20, 2016

EDITORIAL WORK, CONSULTANCIES, BOARDS, REVIEW PANELS (since 2006)

Contributing Editor, Environment Magazine (2021 – 2023)

Advisory Board Member, AGU LANDInG; (Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences (2020 – 2023)

Chair, Planning Committee of the 9th Biennial Education and Science Forum (2018)

Planning Committee, International Conference on Appropriate Technology (ICAT) (2017-2018)

HBCU Working Group on Geosciences (2017 – 2020)

NCAR non-NSF Proposal Review Panel (2015 – 2017)

Board Member, Perry School (2013 – 2016)

Consultant, Empower DC (2012 — 2015)

Chair, Advisory Board for NSF CREST Center for the Integrated Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic region at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (2011 – 2016)

Board of Advisors, Manila Journal of Sciences (2011)

Reviewer for National Science Research Council Curriculum Development (2006)

NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS FOR RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP

  • 2021 C&EN Trailblazer
  • 2020 Selection as one of the 1000 Most Inspiring Black Scientists in America (Cell Publishing)
  • Color of STEM Award 2020
  • Elected a Fellow of the African Scientific Institute 2019
  • NASA Award for Team Science – OWLETS-2 2018
  • T. Weathers Award for Technical Achievement National Technical Association 2018
  • Elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society 2016
  • HBCU Awards – Best Research Center 2013
  • Fulbright Specialist Candidate 2013
  • Inducted into The History Makers 2012
  • Selection as one of the 50 most Influential Blacks in Technology 2011
  • NASA Administrator’s Fellowship 1999-2001
  • PKAL Faculty for the 21st Century 1997
  • NSF CAREER Award 1997-2001
  • IBM Support for University Research (SUR) Award 1996
  • Mordecai W. Johnson New Faculty Research Support Grant, 1994
  • University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1992-1994 

NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS FOR TEACHING, MENTORING, AND ADVOCACY

  • AGU Presidential Citation for Science and Society 2020
  • Charles Anderson Award American Meteorological Society 2017
  • Henry C. McBay Outstanding Teacher Award National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) 2012
  • PKAL Faculty for the 21st Century 1997

MEDIA APPEARANCES AND PRESS MENTIONS (PAST FIVE YEARS)

http://chalkdustmagazine.com/black-mathematician-month/conversation-vernon-morris/

  • Feb 26, 2017. Big Words Are Powerful:A Black History Month Interview with Dr. Vernon Morris

https://bigwordsarepowerful.com/2017/02/a-black-history-month-interview-with-dr-vernon-morris-part-one/

https://bigwordsarepowerful.com/2017/02/a-black-history-month-interview-with-dr-vernon-morris-part-two/

https://article.wn.com/view/2016/03/01/A_black_history_month_interview_with_Dr_Vernon_Morris_part_t/

WORK IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

1999 – Participated in the formation of the Howard University Environmental Justice Partnership (HUEJP).  This activity involved recruitment and training of a team of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students in the execution of projects in service of communities needing assistance in environmental assessments, environmental analysis, subject matter experts, expert testimony, and independent investigation of environmental pollution, exposure, and health risks.  This team has conducted studies in Memphis – Rozelle community (2000), Washington, DC – Ivy City neighborhood (2006, 2012 – 2015), and Buzzard. Point, Washington, DC (2016 – 2020).

  • The activities conducted for the Memphis Defense Depot led to a revision of prior environmental impact assessments after identification of exposure pathways and elevated heavy metals in the surrounding community. Additional remediation was conducted subsequent to corroboration of these results.
  • The activities conducted in Ivy City and subsequent court testimonies led to an injunction against the city (Washington, DC) that delayed the construction of a parking lot and protected the Ivy City citizens against further degradation of their air quality for two years. This ultimately resulted in a lower environmental impact on the citizens of the Ivy City community during that period.
  • The activities conducted in collaboration with Buzzard Point residents include supporting community-inspired air quality monitoring, preparation of data for advocacy, and preparation of summary reports for residents to explain regulatory reports and responses.

STUDENT TRAINING AND PRODUCTION

  • Postdoc Advisor for 8 Postdoctoral Fellows
  • Primary Research Advisor for 20 PhDs and 14 MS students
  • Thesis Committee Member for 27 PhDs and 5 MS students
  • Advised over 200 undergraduate and high school students as a research mentor. Over 150 have been students who identify as a member of a group with protected status.

REFERENCES

Available upon request