Morris Research Group : Polymer Science and Engineering : UMass Amherst

Melody Morris

Assistant Professor

The Morris group will engineer sustainable macromolecular materials to enable next-generation biomaterials, nanoreactors, and membranes, via automated and high-throughput tool development combined with multiscale physical characterization. The longevity and stability of most synthetic polymers has proven to be a major bottleneck in creating a sustainable materials world.

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Research

Enzymatic Degradation of Polymers

Protein Materials

Automation

People

Morris_Group_2025-2026 — Morris Group Fall 2025 - Hiko Komatsu, Khue Dang, Maria Colombo, Megan Ploch, Em Ambrosius, Prof. Melody Morris, Brooke Oberlee, Syba Ismail, Napatsorn Chadanuntakul, Sasha Grinevich

Current Members

Graduate Students

Em Ambrosius

Em is a second-year student interested in chemical synthesis and polymer recycling. They are developing a high-throughput polymer degradation assay to investigate the enzymatic degradation of multiple polymer classes. Em is an avid Baltimore Orioles fan, and they enjoy video games and biking.

Email: [email protected]

Sasha Grinevich

Sasha is a third-year student studying dynamics and kinetics of enzymatic degradation of polymers. Outside of research she enjoys hiking, rock-climbing, and snowboarding.

Email: [email protected]

Hiko Komatsu

Hiko is a third-year student from Tokyo, Japan investigating sequence-structure-property relationships in resilin-like polypeptides. Outside work, Hiko enjoys wildlife photography, climbing, and snowboarding.

Email: [email protected]

Megan Ploch

Megan is a second-year student inspired by the potential of polymers to address real-world challenges. Her work is motivated by how materials can create meaningful impact. Outside of research, she enjoys sailing and hiking with her dog.

Email: [email protected]

Syba Ismail

Syba is a first-year student.

Email: [email protected]

Napatsorn (Bam) Chadanuntakul

Bam is a first-year student from Thailand interested in biomaterials, especially protein-based approaches for studying cell surface interactions. Outside of work, Bam enjoys reading novels and baking desserts.

Email: [email protected]

Undergraduate Students

Maria Colombo

Maria is a junior studying chemical engineering at UMass Amherst. Her work focuses on high-throughput polymer synthesis with the Jubilee robot and understanding the enzymatic degradation of polyurethanes.

Khue Dang

Khue is a junior studying biochemistry at Amherst College. Her work focuses on leveraging high-throughput Golden Gate Assembly to create resilin-like polypeptide libraries.

Emma Grosshart

Emma is a junior studying biochemistry and molecular biology at UMass Amherst. She is currently working on developing a high-throughput fluorescent tagging based assay for determining protein thermal stability.

Brooke Oberlee

Brooke is a junior studying mechanical engineering at UMass Amherst. She is currently screening a diverse set of hydrolases to investigate mechanistic differences in their ability to degrade poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) across varying crystallinities.

Vera Lin

Vera studies chemical engineering at UMass Amherst.

See Current Members of the Morris Research Group

Alumni

News

Congratulations to Em for the 2025 Santos Go Award!

Congratulations to Em for being awarded the 2025 UMass CBI fellowship!
Congratulations to Hiko for admission to the 2025 Neutron Scattering School!
Congratulations to Em for admission to the 2025 BioPACIFIC MIP Summer School!
Congratulations to Sasha for winning the sustainability award at the 2025 MIT Polymer Day!

News from the Morris Research Group

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Group Values Statement

The Morris group consists of individuals from diverse backgrounds who are self-motivated, respectful of each other, and excited to learn and perform impactful and sustainable science. The core principles of respect, responsibility, and accountability foster a positive and inviting research environment committed to bringing new scientific visions to life. Mentorship, community outreach and personal growth are principle tenets in bringing our research endeavors to the general public.

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Publications Publications