Ongoing research concerns the synthesis and characterization of new III-V and II-VI compound semiconductor materials and of the related quantum-confined structures, including nanowires, quantum wells and superlattices. Semiconductor growth is performed by molecular beam epitaxy and characterization techniques include X-ray and electron diffraction and various optical and electron spectroscopy techniques, using both conventional and synchrotron-radiation sources.  Over 300 publications have appeared in international journals and three patents have been registered in the fields of semiconductor physics and materials science, molecular beam epitaxy, semiconductor interfaces and heterostructures, metal-semiconductor contacts, quantum wells, superlattices, solid state lasers and synchrotron-radiation spectroscopies and microscopies. In general, we work towards a better understanding of the properties of semiconductor materials, and strive to bridge the gap between basic and applied research in this field.