Challenges associated with energy supply and global warming have raised public awareness of the need to develop alternative “green” energy sources. Substantial research effort has been directed towards efficient and cost-effective energy harvesting devices. Studies have shown that surfaces and interfaces are of paramount importance in such devices. Members of the Surface Sciences and Advanced Materials Laboratory investigate relevant surfaces and interfaces in these devices with advanced material characterization techniques, including scanning probe microscopy, photoemission spectroscopy, charge transport measurements, electron microscopy, and optical techniques. The ultimate goal is two-fold: (1) fundamental understanding of structure-property relationship in energy materials; and (2) development of innovative methodology and instrumentation for next-generation energy harvesting and storage devices based on the findings obtained in (1).