Welcome to the Rubloff Research Group at the University of Maryland. Our group is part of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the Institute for Systems Research, and the Institute for Research in engineering and Applied Physics.

The primary focus of our research is on design, synthesis and control of multifunctional nanostructures and their assembly in mesoscale architectures that deliver functionality to applications.

Currently our primary target is energy storage realized by thin film fabrication of solid state batteries, where we combine atomic-scale process control with 3-D structures to achieve high power-energy performance, as well as excellent safety and efficiency. We are also exploring applications for our skills in electronics, computing, biomedical devices, and Internet-of-Things (IoT).

Our work features exceptional capabilities in atomic (ALD) and molecular (MLD) layer deposition, enabling synthesis of distinctly 3-D micro- and nano- structures in which the functional materials are controlled at molecular scales even over the most challenging 3-D topography. These capabilities are complemented by extensive real-time and in-situ characterization in our ALD Nanostructures Laboratory (ANSLab) and extensive facilities in the Maryland NanoCenter. Both the chemical processes we employ and the 3-D architectures we create drive our increasing use of modeling and simulation platforms to provide guidance and insight in our research.

Collaborators enrich our research profoundly. We work most closely with the Sang Bok Lee group in chemistry – sharing lab facilities, research ideas, group meetings, etc. Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage (NEES), the DOE Energy Frontier Research Center we led from 2009-2020 at UMD, is a major stimulus for collaborations with half a dozen UMD faculty groups and even more at NEES partner institutions including DOE laboratories and universities.