Ultrafast optics involves the generation and use of ultrashort light pulses, with durations measured in femtoseconds (10-15 s). Professor Cundiff and his research group work on several aspects of ultrafast optics. One area involves generating and controlling ultrashort pulses, which, of course, provides the foundation for the field of ultrafast optics. However, the group is primarily interested in using ultrashort light pulses for a variety of scientific applications. A natural application is to use the very short duration of the pulses to study processes that occur on similar timescales, which is generally known as ultrafast spectroscopy. Ultrafast spectroscopy not only gives dynamical information, but it also provides information about the fundamentals of how light interacts with matter. One type of ultrafast spectroscopy, known as optical multidimensional coherent spectroscopy, has been developed over the last decade as has proven to be very powerful. The Cundiff group uses ultrafast spectroscopy, including multidimensional coherent spectroscopy, to study a range of systems including semiconductors, semiconductor nanostructures and atomic vapors.