The Wang Group envisions synergy among chemistry, physics, and materials with real-world applications and challenges. Research in our group is multidisciplinary; we strive to manipulate the excited-state dynamics of functional materials for applications of renewable energy conversion, photocatalysis, and quantum information science. We employ a combination of materials design and ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy/microscopy to extract crucial photophysics both in solution phase and at the interfaces of solid-state systems. Our fundamental understanding of photophysics serves as a guide to control and to exploit the electronic, vibrational, and spin properties of functional materials for various applications.