Portrait of Robert Morris

Oceanography

Robert Morris

Associate Professor

Working on:

Robert Morris is an oceanographer who studies the microscopic life that is responsible for some of the largest and most far-reaching biotic processes in the oceans. Marine bacteria and archaea play critical roles in global nutrient cycles by incorporating and redistributing dissolved organic matter and inorganic nutrients throughout the oceans. Most of these marine microorganisms have not been cultured, so it is difficult to directly link organisms with the processes in which they play a role. Morris addresses this challenge using novel cultivation, genomic, and proteomic approaches to study the ecology of bacteria and archaea in the oceans. He is also one of the core faculty for Interactive Oceans, an initiative involving universities throughout the country that will encircle entire tectonic plates along the west coast of North America with fiber-optic cables and other massive instrumentation, providing high-quality, real-time data.