The underlying theme of his research is to enable innovation and design of high-performance materials and devices by exploiting the fundamental connection between material structure and resulting thermomechanical function and reliability. His research group studies the chemistry and molecular structure of materials in bulk form or thin films and their thermo-mechanical behavior, adhesive and cohesive fracture properties, and behavior under complex loading and environmental conditions. Materials include thin-film and layered structures for nanoscience and energy technologies, high-performance laminates, biomaterials and soft tissues.