His own research focuses on understanding new semiconductor materials using microscopy and spectroscopy, with applications in solar energy, next generation displays, quantum information, and neuromorphic computing.

He is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society, a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences, an elected fellow of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) and has been named a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar, a Research Corporation Scialog Fellow in solar energy conversion, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, and a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. He has been recognized with The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the ACS Unilever Award in Colloid and Surfactant Science, a Blavatnik National Award Finalist for Young Scientists, and the Burton Medal of the Microscopy Society of America. He participated in the 2012-2013 class of the Defense Science Study Group. He is currently an Associate Editor of the ACS journal Chemical Reviews.