If humanity is to profoundly alter its environmental footprint in the twenty-first century, it is imperative to meet the challenge of escalating global energy demand with the innovation of unprecedentedly efficient renewable energy conversion and storage systems. However, our accelerating reliance on information and communication technology also mandates technologically disruptive scientific breakthroughs that allow electronic, communication, and computing devices to operate at orders of magnitude lower energy consumption. These era-defining problems can only be truly solved by a new fundamental understanding of how to control matter to eliminate energy loss in the movement and manipulation of charge.

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Our research group designs and synthesizes new atomically-thin, precisely tailored two-dimensional (2D) materials in which the collective behavior of electrons can be studied and exquisitely controlled. We leverage these materials to uncover the principles that underlie efficient manipulation of electron transport within solids—the basis for novel ultralow-power electronic devices—and across solid–liquid interfaces—enabling the next-generation of fuel cells and electrolyzers for renewable energy conversion and storage.