Prof. Zhu leads the Experimental Materials Physics Group (EMPG). The EMPG conducts research aimed at advancing technologies in renewable energy devices and biomedical applications. Examples include disordered materials and glasses, superconducting and ferroelectric materials, and surface and interface phenomena. Recent work has included ion transport in ion exchange membranes, viscoelastic properties of polymers on interfaces, and the adsorption of molecules on carbon nanotubes and graphene containing various types of defects.