• Nanostructured functional materials for sustainable energy technologies
• Electrocatalysis for energy conversion (metal-air batteries, fuel cells, and water splitting)
• Advanced energy storage materials (batteries and supercapacitors)
• Environmental electrochemistry (electrochemical advanced oxidation, electrochemical sensors, materials corrosion and prevention)

Sensors play a critical role in a modern society, touching every aspect of our daily lives with applications ranging from manufacturing and health care to personal and consumer electronics. At present, most sensors are designed to provide single information and are not suitable for providing a complete, coherent, and collective map of the target information. Dr. Thomas Thundat’s research will focus on developing integrated sensor systems that are capable of providing multi target information. These sensors with wireless data transfer will be powered by the single wire, single contact electricity delivery method. High selectivity detection is critical in many areas such as processing plants, manufacturing factories, environmental stewardship, treatment plants, mining, and long-term medical implants, as well as in emerging areas such as Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Smart Cars, Smart Houses, Smart Factories, and Wearables. These high performance sensor arrays will primarily employ a nano and micro-electro-mechanical systems platform, and will rely on molecularly engineered interfaces as well as the interaction of interfaces with electromagnetics for achieving high sensitivity and selectivity. In addition, Dr. Thundat’s research will include fundamental studies to gain basic understanding of molecular interactions at solid-fluid interfaces. His research program with UB Chemical and Biological Engineering and the RENEW program will involve collaboration with the University at Buffalo’s leading-edge researchers in nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, information and communications technologies, and energy resource management.