Research Programs

Understanding, manipulating, and controlling interacting forms of order in condensed matter systems that arise through interactions shaped by quantum physics.

Exploiting the extraordinary new scientific opportunities enabled by van der Waals heterostructures to create novel functional materials with unprecedented flexibility and control.

Understanding and manipulating excitons and phonons in nanoscale electronic materials under real-world operating conditions.

Exploring and developing “nanomachines” for converting energy and information from one form to another.

Advancing the science of low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures by combining atomically-precise nanowire synthesis with state-of-the-art characterization, theory and simulation.

Enhancing coherence of solid-state quantum systems by controlling their interactions with material defects, interfaces, and phonons

Advancing the fundamental science of non-equilibrium magnetic materials and phenomena in thin-film materials with strong spin-orbit interactions in the presence of interfacially induced or local inversion-symmetry breaking.

Exploring, understanding, and computing material properties and behaviors through theory and modeling, and developing concepts and methods for such studies.

Studying quantum materials on sub-nm length scales and extremely short time intervals.

Synthesizing designer composites with chemical control from atomic to macroscopic scales.

Understanding and controlling polymer reactivity in upcycling and recycling processes to create future generations of polymers that are more efficiently recycled by design.

Leveraging advances in cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy to obtain atomic-scale images of soft materials.

Advancing state-of-art in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to elucidate nanoscale materials transformations.

Exploring nanoparticle surfactant assemblies at liquid-liquid interfaces in pursuit of Structural Liquids that combine the desirable characteristics of a liquid with the structural stability of a solid.

Realizing the next generation of cooperative adsorbents to extract CO2 from air.

Uncovering the relationships between atomic-scale phenomena and macroscopic mechanical behaviors of structural metallic materials.

Accelerating materials discovery and education through advanced scientific computing and innovative design tools.

Developing a data-driven approach to synthesis science by combining machine learning, experimental synthesis, and large-scale first-principles modeling.

Establishing fundamental science for the synthesis of battery materials from natural resources, enabling a new ‘separation-by-synthesis’ paradigm for energy storage manufacturing.