His research involves the development of new inorganic materials with unusual electronic structures that give rise to desirable photophysical, photochemical, magnetic, or magneto-optical properties. Honors for his work include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the ACS Inorganic Lectureship Award, the Dalton Transactions Americas Lectureship Award, the ACS Inorganic Nanoscience Award, and the Debye Chair Professorship at Utrecht University. He is a Fellow of the AAAS and the RSC, a Senior Fellow of the Zukunftskolleg at the University of Konstanz, and an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences.