Professor Vancso's current scientific interests revolve around macromolecular nanotechnology and materials science of soft matter. Particular attention is given to surface engineering, surface-initiated polymerizations (polymer brushes), single molecule chemistry and physics, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), single emitter photonics, nanostructured materials, and materials chemistry of organometallic polymers. Biointerfaces, specifically synthetic polymers in contact with seawater, and biomaterials in tissue engineering receive increasing attention in his work. His research in macromolecular nanotechnology started with a research award of the Prime Minister of Ontario, Canada in 1989 allowing him to initiate a program in AFM of soft matter at the University of Toronto, focusing on nanoscale observations, studies of molecular properties, and molecular manipulation of polymeric materials. He has been currently awarded by an NWO-TOP grant (Netherlands Foundation for Scientific Research) in macromolecular nanotechnology of stimulus responsive polymers. These grants are "directed at research groups that excel in (bio)chemistry or chemical technology". The grants "offer these groups the opportunity and freedom strengthen or extend, challenging and innovative lines of research". He (co)authored 365 + papers, which scored a total of 8,200 citations and earned him an "h-factor" of 44 (December, 2012). With his coworkers he coauthored five patents, and recently published a monograph on "Scanning Force Microscopy of Polymers" (Springer).