The Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics is actively developing novel spectroscopic tools and techniques for application across the fields of chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine.

At one end of the spectrum lies "hard science" research such as use of ultrafast laser spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance to alter dynamics, use of nanosecond time-resolved techniques to examine the sub-molecular dynamics of polymers, and fundamental studies of photoexcited states. 

At the other is applied research using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence to probe gene expression in single cells, low-coherence interferometry to examine cancer-related changes in cell structure, and high-resolution optical coherence tomography for medical imaging and tissue characterization.