Professor Spanier investigates the structure, physical, electronic and dielectric properties of emergent solid state electronic materials, striving to advance the state-of-the-art in energy-efficient materials and devices. He and his research group probe the interactions of light with matter, including inelastic light scattering revealing lattice, electronic and magnetic phase stability. They investigate the structure ferroic and multiferroic solids, and electromechanical, magnetoelectric, energy-storage, charge- and spin-storage properties. Such properties find great application in energy-efficient sensors, and components for information and communications technologies, and power systems.