Like many engineers, Ashley Morris was born inquisitive.
Though she was born in Louisville, Morris grew up on a small 5-acre farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Along with her parents and younger brother and sister, she spent her childhood exploring the outdoors. She loved fishing in their pond, touring the barns, climbing trees and playing in their treehouse.
Oftentimes you could find the siblings building makeshift climbing platforms from tobacco sticks in the barns, or using ropes and other tools found around the farm to rig pulley systems in the trees. Here, Morris was the lead engineer, carefully instructing her brother, Tyler, on where in the tree to climb and place a pulley.
Their younger sister, Anna, often served as their test subject. Small enough to fit in a milk crate, Anna wore their father's ironworker helmet as she was hoisted into the trees. It was in these childhood experiences that Morris found her passion for designing, building and discovery.
Gaining confidence at GSP
Fast forward to high school and Morris was accepted into the Kentucky Governor's Scholar Program (GSP) where she spent five weeks at Eastern Kentucky University studying her preferred program of engineering. Morris still speaks fondly of GSP to this day and remembers crying when her parents came to pick her up at the end of the program because she simply did not want to leave.
The GSP experience was an incredible opportunity for Morris, where she formed new friendships and ideas, embraced her independence, honed her leadership skills and nurtured her inquisitive spirit. This was also her first formal introduction to the field of engineering. One of her favorite memories was working with a group of friends to design, build and race a cardboard boat.
Unfortunately, Morris struggled to relate to some of the engineers who were brought in to teach about the field. It was the early 2000s, and the field trips and engineering lectures were limited to one or two engineering disciplines.
"We would take field trips and it was usually to mining or civil engineering firms. While I now understand those to be excellent career paths, at the time I couldn't really see myself in either of those disciplines," she said. "I just didn't know how multi-faceted the field of engineering could be or where I might fit."
In addition, the engineering lectures were presented as dry and boring, led primarily by much older men. Overall, Morris feared engineering might not be the right fit for her after all.
From finance to carbon materials
After GSP, Morris began her undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky with a major in finance, unsure of her career goals. After some progression, Morris realized she wasn't passionate about the business field. Fortunately, she stayed interested in the work of her friends, who were students in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering.
"I had friends in the College of Engineering who really enjoyed it, and I had discovered finance wasn't for me, so I decided I really needed to revisit engineering," Morris said. "And I'm so thankful that I did."
Morris changed her major to mechanical engineering and began trying to catch up on her coursework. It was in 2007 that a friend approached her about a possible position at UK's Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER).
Matthew Weisenberger was finishing his Ph.D. and needed an undergraduate student to assist him with tensile testing of carbon fibers. Morris was hired and got to work assisting Weisenberger in the lab. Her early days at the center allowed her to engage in hands-on research which subsequently laid the foundation for the advancements she'd soon make in the lab.
As part of her undergraduate position, she assisted Weisenberger in the development of CAER's solution spinning line, used to produce carbon fiber precursors. The spinning line is now considered the largest solution spinning line at an academic institution in North America. She remained under Weisenberger's mentorship as she completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in mechanical engineering, and was hired as a full-time engineer in the CAER Carbon Materials Group in 2011.
While working full-time at CAER, Morris began coursework in 2015 toward her Ph.D. in materials science and engineering. In November 2021, she successfully defended her Ph.D. while seven months pregnant with her first child. She recalls writing her dissertation while pregnant: "Looking back, I don't know how summoned the energy, while pregnant, to come home from a full day of work, go to my home office and write for hours. I definitely would have preferred to nap!"
Contributions at CAER
Currently, Morris is a principal research engineer at CAER, a role she's held since 2016. In addition to experimental work, the position includes responsibilities such as project management, funding acquisition through proposal writing, authorship of reports, presentations and peer-reviewed publications, and mentoring staff and students. In this position, Morris doesn't get to do as much hands-on material processing as she has in the past. However, she still tries to make time to get into the lab frequently to check on processes, perform materials characterizations and help others, which makes those days in the office that much more exciting. The people she works with are important to her, and Morris loves collaborating with her team.
Morris is among a new generation of women engineers paving the way for women in science. According to the Society of Women Engineers, in 1980 only 20% of material scientists were women, compared presently to 36%. Progress is being made, slowly but steadily. In a field traditionally dominated by men, women in scientific research often face unique challenges.
Morris' daughter, Emma, is now almost 3 years old, and she and her husband, Jad, also welcomed a baby boy, William, in 2023. He is now a year old. Morris loves her roles of being both an engineer and a mom. While it can be a lot to balance kids and work, she says she has felt extremely supported by CAER and her boss, Weisenberger, now CAER associate director.
"Matt has two kids of his own and he's been through this. He understands the challenges that come with trying to balance work and family," Morris said. "Everyone, regardless of whether you have children or not, has a personal life they have to balance with the expectations of their career. As a supervisor and team member, it's important to remember that and to be supportive of others."
There have been a lot of strong, intelligent scientists who have paved the way for people like Morris; and have been wonderful examples of perseverance through the adversaries of a largely male-dominated field. Morris strives to be a good example of work ethic and attitude to the younger scientists, engineers and students who enter CAER. When asked what advice she would give to other young people, Morris said:
"Believe in yourself. Focus on what you want to do. Find encouraging mentors who cheer you on toward your goals, through all of the ups and downs you may encounter. Don't let one bad experience derail you from pursuing what you love."
You can read more of Morris' story and learn about the impactful research at CAER online here.
