The Dynamic Characterization Group (DCG) develops and utilizes operando/in situ techniques and evolving autonomous platforms to “see the unseen.” Specifically, we focus on in situ microscopy and spectroscopy to characterize microstructural evolution and properties of materials in a wide variety of environments and external stimuli.  Our group is focused on the use of microscopy, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and synthesis/processing tools to probe structural, functional, and biological materials in extreme environments, harnessing metastability and tracking non-equilibrium phenomena from the atomic to bulk scale. In other words, we make and break things, and watch it all happen in real time!! This leads us to new understanding and discovery in areas of energy-producing materials, biological and medical systems, and functional and structural materials for aerospace, nuclear, quantum, and more.