Dr. Taylor's research focuses on studying mechanical behavior of materials at extremely small scales (< 200 nm) and exploring techniques to design and manufacture novel devices using nano-elements such as quantum dots, nano-particles, nanowires, etc. Materials exhibit unique and novel properties when scaled down to a few thousands of atoms. These properties can be exploited to fabricate new devices and products. For example, an on-going project is to study how 3-D groups of atoms (quantum dots) on the surface of a semiconductor can be made to form at precise locations by controlling the stress and strain in the underlying surface. The success of this project would enable quantum dots to follow a pattern and form nanoelectronic circuits that are smaller and faster than any existing today. In addition, Dr. Taylor has research interests in nanobiomechanics; focusing on the study of how cells respond to mechanical cues in their environment with the goal of utilizing this information to detect disease in a single cell. A specific focus is on the development of 2-D and 3-D biocompatible environments with well-defined mechanical cues for mechanotransduction studies of tissue cells.