Nanotechnology is a field dealing with underlined phenomena at the nanoscale. It covers diverse phenomena that encompass molecular/biological interactions, interfacial science, as well as bulk and surface properties. The field is fast expanding into agriculture, energy and pharmaceutical industries.

Spectroscopy with subwavelength structures is a field important to pollution detection, remote sensing, and imaging at resolutions surpassing the diffraction limits. It is related to nanoscale phenomena but can also find applications in the infrared and the THz frequency range.

Energy is fast becoming a crucial commodity: its transmission, delivery and storage are key to the development of the U.S. economy and to the safeguarding of national security. Ongoing projects that focus on one or several aspects of the above include graphene-coated nano-optical antennas for molecular detection, tunable super-capacitors for energy storage, digital energy for efficient energy management and white-light sources.