1. physical design of VLSI circuits (spanning logic, circuit, interconnect and layout design), including performance analysis/verification and process/device/interconnect modeling;
2. the VLSI design-manufacturing interface, including layout of reticle enhancement techniques (optical proximity correction, phase-shifting masks, area fill(Fill related papers and Survey) and data models and handoffs to mask and process flows;
3. technology roadmapping, particularly for Design Technology (i.e., the electronic design automation (EDA) industry);
4. discrete (graph, computational geometric, and combinatorial) algorithms; and
5. the structural theory of large-scale global optimizations.

Our research philosophy includes the following elements:

1. open and collaborative group structure, with shared responsibilities, efforts and rewards;
2. principled behavior in all aspects of our research, from citation to reporting, from collaboration to credit assignment, from genesis of idea to genesis of code;
3. seeking out and understanding the most meaningful problems for which our abilities can one day lead to meaningful and useful solutions;
4. avoidance of incremental work and over-specialization.