The major focus of the Dowben group emphasizes the changes in electronic (band) structure across electronic phase transitions in reduced dimensionality and multiferroic coupling. Of interest are ferromagnetism in local moment systems or spatially restricted systems, ferroelectricity, multiferroic behavior, deterministic changes of spin state in molecular systems, and the nonmetal to metal transition.

Specific techniques include angle-resolved photoemission, resonant photoemission, inverse photoemission and spin polarized inverse photoemission. Other techniques include spin polarized photoemission, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, x-ray absorptions, characteristic energy loss, low energy electron diffraction, angle resolved thermal desorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission, and magneto-optic Kerr effect.