The Ph.D. degree represents the highest level of academic preparation. With it, a student can expect to maintain technical competence and contributions throughout a professional career. It is usually the preferred degree for research and development in industry and government and for teaching. Doctoral studies emphasize independent research under the guidance of a research advisor in a field related to Chemical and Biological Engineering, culminating in the writing of a thesis document and its defense in a presentation to the department and the thesis committee. Financial support typically comes from fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or a combination.<br><br>Research interests center on developing and understanding the phenomena involved in producing and optimizing advanced materials for applications in optical, electronic, catalytic and allied industries. Thermodynamic, transport, and chemical processes governing the formation and subsequent behavior of these materials are under active investigation.<br><br>Also of interest is the self-assembly of macromolecules and nanoparticles to understand the structure and property relationships in hybrid nanoscale materials. Major interests are thermodynamics and kinetics in macromolecular self-assembly, materials synthesis, and structure characterizations. Novel experimental techniques reveal fundamental and important knowledge in macromolecular science and engineering.<br><br>Low dimensional quantum materials and their quantum effects hold promise for novel applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Some examples include graphene, transitional metal dichacogenides (TMDs, such as MoS2), and topological insulators. State-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques are applied to create structures and devices with control down to nanometer resolution. Optical spectroscopy measurement is used to characterize these nanoscale structures and devices by combining quantum transport (electrical) measurement with optical measurement.