Dr. Morris is an internationally recognized expert in opto-electronic systems research. He has been active in optical engineering research and development for over twenty-seven years.
He co-founded Rochester Photonics Corporation (RPC) in 1989. The firm specialized in the design, prototyping, and manufacturing of diffractive and micro-optics components and subsystems, and was acquired by Corning Incorporated in 1999. From February 1999 to December 31, 2002, Corning Rochester Photonics Corporation functioned as a wholly owned subsidiary of Corning Incorporated.
He founded Apollo Optical Systems on December 31, 2002.
In May 2003, he co-founded RPC Photonics, Inc., which specializes in the design and development of optical elements and systems for display and illumination applications for commercial products, medical products and government systems.
From 1979 to 1982, Morris was a Scientist in Optics at the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester. From 1982 to 2001, Morris was a Professor at the Institute of Optics, where he supervised 22 doctoral and 5 masters dissertations.
Morris’ research has spanned a wide variety of topics in statistical optics, optical information processing, automatic pattern recognition and diffractive and micro-optics technology.
He holds 25 U.S. patents, and has published more than 70 referred journal articles, 3 book chapters and numerous conference proceedings. During 2003 he served as President of the Optical Society of America, and in 2004 served as Immediate Past President on the OSA Board of Directors. He is the recipient of the 2016 Stephen D. Fantone OSA Distinguished Service Award, the 2006 OSA Joseph Fraunhofer/Robert M. Burley Prize; the 2002 Rochester Engineering Society’s Leo H. East Engineer of the Year Award; and the 1997 Rochester Chamber of Commerce Civic Award for Science and Technology. He is also an Honorary Member of the OSA, Rochester Section, and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and SPIE.
Morris received his B.S. degree with Special Distinction in Engineering Physics from the University of Oklahoma, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
