Paul Morris
What鈥檚 your name, major and where are you from?
My name is Paul Morris, and I鈥檓 from Olympia Washington. I finished my undergraduate degree at the Evergreen State College before moving down to Corvallis in July of last year. I鈥檓 currently pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical engineering however my degree would better be delineated by my research interest with the Simon ensemble where I鈥檓 currently working on anomaly detection using metal-organic framework (MOF) quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) nanosensors.
Tell us about your time at 性视界传媒 so far?
My experience here has been new, exciting, challenging, fast, slow, all of the things. Although I鈥檝e enjoyed the science, campus and this weird little city... what鈥檚 made it great has been the people. My cohort is full of rad awesome people, I鈥檝e had some incredibly talented inspiring professors and I couldn鈥檛 ask for a better group of undergrads in the classes I TA.
Are you part of any clubs, sports, or student organizations?
Currently, the only extracurricular activity I鈥檝e found time for is racquetball. Although I have other interests, it鈥檚 challenging to find time for much else beyond one thing. I find myself drawn to the fast pace and fierce competition offered by the OSU racquetball team. I like to think my ability to play has steadily risen since my initiation several months ago and I plan to put in as much time as is needed to be the best. I鈥檓 a little driven.
What kind of work do you do currently?
Currently, I鈥檓 a graduate teaching assistant for a class called chemical process dynamics and simulation. Soon, however, I鈥檒l transition to be a graduate research assistant to work on a project for the department of defense for which I鈥檒l likely be curating nanosensors for a drone being developed to detect nuclear weapons and gases. But it really feels like that鈥檚 not really separable from everything else.
The way I define the word work here is as kind of a blanket statement for everything I do at the college, which includes being a student. It鈥檚 mostly just balancing all the things that I do as best I can from holding office hours, grading papers, attending lectures, running studios, homework, researching things etc...
Do you have dreams after college?
Honestly, this was it. As I wrapped up my undergraduate degree I knew I wanted to come here to pursue my Ph.D., but after all this is over your guess is as good as mine. I don鈥檛 see myself working in an industry for which I don鈥檛 believe in the cause for any arbitrarily large amount of money. Although there have been times when I鈥檝e considered further work in academia, however as I progressively learn and grow, I鈥檓 not entirely sure that I believe in the institution. Ultimately the thing I can say is with the most confidence is wherever this endeavor leads seems irrelevant when the path feels right. Someone mentioned something about a farming commune once?
How do you want to make a difference in our community? This could be current or in the future
I consider myself to be an optimist with a dash, just a pinch of nihilism. I understand that the things I do, if I do them with a high moral standard, will likely positively influence those around me. I don鈥檛 see the world and my community as a machine made of cogs I can change, fix or turn. I鈥檓 one of the cogs in this analogy, I just want to be a good cog... not worry about changing other cogs. That鈥檚 not to say, for example, I wouldn鈥檛 join my community in fighting against a hypothetical fascist movement, or supporting those in need or work on science that helps rid the world of a dependency on forever chemicals etc. I don鈥檛 see that as wanting to make a difference, rather being myself. So, the best way I can answer this that makes sense to me... is to be myself and keep doing what I鈥檓 doing and hope there鈥檚 a positive effect in the community.
Is there anything you鈥檙e passionate about? How does this apply to your work or impact in your community?
I love the deep wilderness. Getting lost, so to speak (sometimes literally, but we won鈥檛 talk about that), deep in the woods far from technology, cars, industry, and cement. So that the only things around for miles are animals and trees. After about a week or so in the woods I come back recharged and renewed. I don鈥檛 think I could do the work that I do without this occasional escape from modern technology. I have other passions as well that might be a more appropriate answer to this question, but this is the one I want to possibly end up on a hypothetical OSU social media platform.