The development of efficient and environmentally clean energy sources is one of the most important problems facing society today. Vanderbilt ChBE research is making major impacts in strategic areas to ensure a sustainable energy future. From a broad range of solar cells, including perovskite, dye-sensitized, and biohybrid, to fuel cell membranes, to biofuels, to nuclear waste reduction, our faculty are leaders in their fields and continually push boundaries to establish higher levels of performance. Advances in alternative energy require a molecular level control over materials properties, the seamless integration between different materials at interfaces, and cutting edge instrumentation for characterization. Since energy is a highly interdisciplinary area closely linked with materials innovations, our students and faculty broadly collaborate with others in engineering and science through the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE), providing access to state-of-the-art instrumentation.