Research in the Shaw group combines modern analytical techniques with materials and physical chemistry to create new understanding of the molecular-level behavior at interfaces. Current and start-up projects span chemical systems that are both fundamentally intriguing and extremely relevant to current needs of our technology-driven society. Advances in these areas will allow predictive design of new, improved devices in a range of applications including energy production, polymeric materials, corrosion science, environmental remediation, microfluidics, and biomedical implanted devices. A few selected projects are outlined below. Experimental techniques encompass surface-sensitive optical spectroscopies, non-linear spectroscopies, probe microscopies, electrochemical methods, tensiometry, and novel sample preparation techniques, all targeted at revealing the interfacial properties of otherwise opaque chemical systems.