Research in our group focuses on the interfacial properties of carbon and DNA materials, motivated by their applications in energy storage and nanofabrication, respectively. Our current research has two main thrusts: (1) Intrinsic interfacial properties of carbon materials. We discovered that many surface properties of carbon materials, although previously thought to be intrinsic, were in fact limited by unintentional surface contamination from the environment. This work has significantly changed the way the community views and handles carbon materials. (2) DNA-based nanofabrication. We have developed new chemistry to pattern a wide range of substrates using DNA nanostructure templates. This work has established DNA-based lithography as a promising alternative to photolithography for high resolution, low cost patterning.