Control of plasmas in nuclear fusion; modeling of fluid flows from a dynamical systems point of view

Mechanistic investigations of heterogeneous catalysis, carbon capture, and environmental separations via combined synthetic, kinetic, and theoretical techniques; improving efficiencies for conversions of conventional feedstocks to fuels and chemicals and developing renewable alternatives to fuels and chemicals

Fundamental processes controlling the ocean-atmosphere distribution of climatically important chemicals, particularly carbon dioxide, and how these have changed through time; global carbon cycle, ocean biogeochemical dynamics, the impact of climate change on ocean biology and biogeochemistry, use of chemical tracers to study ocean circulation, paleoceanography

Mechanisms of light harvesting and light-induced charge separation; photosynthesis; organic semiconductors; bioinspiration (learning from novelties in nature), chemistry powered by light, quantum effects in molecular-level function

Interfacial modifiers in organic photovoltaics; interface chemistry; surface modification of polymer or inorganic conductor or semiconductor surfaces as a means to enhance performance of devices as diverse as diodes, organic transistors, or biosensors; strong interfaces between implant or tissue scaffold surfaces and biomolecules in the context of enhancing tissue integration with a prosthetic device

Simulations of materials, interfaces, and processes in photo- and electro-catalysis

Behavioral interventions; reasoning, judgment, and decision-making, and issues related to behavioral economics, with an emphasis on descriptive studies of how people make judgments and decisions in situations of conflict and uncertainty

Earth’s environmental history; interactions among climate, ocean biogeochemistry, and atmospheric carbon dioxide; the global nitrogen cycle, today and in the past

Mathematical methods for the localized analysis of scalar and vectorial satellite data, monitoring of ice sheets from time-variable gravity, statistical analysis of multivariate multidimensional stochastic fields, inverse modeling for global and exploration seismology, and design of autonomously floating multi-sensor oceanic platforms.