El-Naggar leads the NanoBio Lab, which focuses on the fundamentals, implications, and technological applications of biological charge transfer, using environmental microbes as model systems. This is a highly interdisciplinary area, drawing from the toolboxes of nanoscience, condensed matter physics, electrochemistry, and environmental microbiology. In contrast to solid state systems (e.g. metals and semiconductors), where the mechanisms of charge transfer are well understood, with immense technological consequences ranging from computers to solar cells, comparatively little is known about the physics of biological charge transfer, especially over long distances. El-Naggar's research examines the physics of the problem over large length scales and in the full biological context of microbial respiration and biotic-abiotic interactions. In addition to learning about the basic science, we are exploiting our understanding of charge transfer for renewable energy recovery in biological fuel cells, and developing new nanomaterials for energy conversion.
