R. Morris Bullock ’79
Morris Bullock has been active in chemistry since he was a student at Carolina working as a laboratory technician over two summers. He went on to earn a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, followed by a postdoctoral position at Colorado State University. He has come to be an internationally recognized organometallic chemist whose experimental work in sustainable energy has propelled him to prominence in the field.
In 1985, Bullock took a job at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he rose through the scientific ranks. Two decades later he moved to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where in 2009 he became the founding director of the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis (an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Department of Energy). During his fifteen years in that leadership role, he continued to be productive as a scientist, publishing hundreds of articles in scientific journals and co-authoring numerous book chapters and one book. His work on designing molecular catalysts is at the forefront of sustainable chemistry, providing the fundamental science underpinning the production and use of clean fuels such as hydrogen.
The America Chemical Society presented its Organometallic Award to Bullock in 2022. Significantly, since the award’s inception in 1983, Bullock is the only recipient who is not a university professor.
Bullock maintains strong ties with his alma mater, serving on the Scientific Advisory Board for the CHASE (Center for Hybrid Approaches in Solar Energy to Liquid Fuels) Solar Hub, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and has helped to position Carolina as a national leader in solar energy research.
