Dr. Bayer's research is mainly applied in nature. The major activity is centered around fabrication and characterization of functional polymer nanocomposites. The Smart Materials Platform@IIT has a number of research activities on fabrication and characterization of electrically and magnetically functional polymer nanocomposites, preparation and characterization of biomaterial nanocomposites for antimicrobial applications and drug delivery, processing of novel cellulosic materials, new generation polymer blends and surface modification and functionalization. Dr. Bayer participates in these research activities by supervising or helping supervise a number of graduate students and post doctoral colleagues. Smart Materials Platform@IIT has also a number of industrial projects with international companies through contracts or joint lab agreements. Additional research activities generally emerge as a result of extensive collaborations with such companies. Moreover, Dr. Bayer has ongoing collaborations with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago and with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia.