Morgan Barnes

MBarnesMorgan is from Austin, Texas. She graduated from Baylor University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering where she studied the viscoelastic properties of industrial polymers. She then attended Duke University for a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science where she focused on using nano and mesoscale ordering to create a self-assembled protein-based biomaterial with tailorable viscoelastic properties.

Currently, Morgan is interested in using self-assembly and molecular-scale ordering to develop novel soft materials. Specifically, she is interested in liquid crystal elastomers which are reversible, shape-responsive materials. She plans to study how altering the molecular building blocks and controlling the liquid crystal ordering affects the bulk materials shape-response to external fields and/or temperatures.