Braun Group Research Summary: Our research program covers a wide range of materials science disciplines, with a general focus on the formation and study of nano and microstructures through self and directed assembly. Materials containing structure on these length scales have been found to exhibit interesting and important electrical, optical, mechanical and biological properties. We often use and develop new materials chemistry and self-assembly approaches for the synthesis of these materials, which allows us to create novel structures and materials including photonic band gap structures, conducting polymers , nanostructured ceramics, semiconductors, biomaterials and thermoelectric materials. In other projects in our group, we are investigating molecular transport in confined geometries, self-healing polymers and the synthesis of functionalized nanoparticles.