Dr. Suzanne Morsch is a Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow at the Department of Materials, University of Manchester. Her research is centred on exploring the mechanisms of polymer degradation in structural composites and protective coatings. Presently, her primary focus is on establishing a mechanistic framework for microplastic (MP) release from network polymers, validated by high-resolution analytic tools and molecular simulation.

With a decade of experience, Dr. Morsch has delved deep into uncovering the fundamental mechanisms underpinning the failure of protective coatings. Her work involves relating nanostructural defects to small molecule transport through network polymers, and how these factors impact industrial testing outcomes. She previously served as a co-investigator for the University of Manchester - AkzoNobel Prosperity Partnership (SusCord, 2018-2023) and was the lead researcher at the AkzoNobel Laboratory of Corrosion Protection within the AkzoNobel-University of Manchester Strategic Partnership (2013-2018).

The techniques she developed have been applied in numerous fields, including in collaborations to investigate UV-induced degradation of oil paint (Rijksmuseum, TU Delft), electrical treeing in high-voltage insulation (Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Manchester), the structure of dental composites (Dental School, University of Manchester), the functionalisation of 2D materials (National Graphene Institute) and fundamental insights into molecular oxidative degradation mechanisms (involving secondment to the Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung in Dresden, under the supervision of Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn).

Suzanne Morsch obtained an MChem in Chemistry with first class honours from the University of Newcastle in 2006. This was followed by a PhD in the synthesis and characterization of surface bound polymer brushes on plasma polymerised layers at Durham University (2013) under the supervision of Professor Jas Pal Badyal, resulting 3 patent applications. This included an extended secondment at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) under the supervision of Professor Sanjay Biswas to study the tribological properties of brush layers. In addition, she has spent time (2012-2013) in new product development, taking two new wound care technologies from conception to prototype.