The McEuen Lab's research focuses on the fabrication and study of nanostructures. We use these structures to span the gap between the macroscopic and molecular worlds, exploring electronics, optics, mechanics, chemistry and biology at the nanoscale. Current research ranges from the use of carbon nanotubes for optoelectronics and mechanics to the use of graphene and other 2D materials for atomic-scale origami, active materials, and micro and nanomachines.

Paul McEuen and Dr. Alejandro Cortese (graduate student and then postdoc in McEuen Lab) founded OWiC Technologies, dedicated to "making the physical world clickable, using microscopic links powered by light, to let any object tell its story."

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2015
• Distinguished Graduates Society, University of Oklahoma College of Engineering, 2013
• Best First Novel, International Thriller Writers Association, 2012
• National Academy of Sciences, 2011
• Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for Basic and Applied Science, 2009
• Fellow, American Physical Society, 2003
• Agilent Europhysics Prize, 2001
• Packard Foundation Interdisciplinary Fellow, 1999
• LBNL Outstanding Performance Award, 1997
• National Young Investigator, 1993-1998
• Packard Foundation Fellow, 1992-1997
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow, 1992-1994
• Office of Naval Research Young Investigator, 1992-1995

• John A. Newman Emeritus Professor of Physical Science, Cornell University, 2023-present
• John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science, Cornell University, 2001-2023
• Associate Professor, Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1996-2000
• Assistant Professor, Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1992-1996
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990-1991
• Ph.D. in Applied Physics, Yale University, 1991
• B.S. in Engineering Physics, University of Oklahoma, 1985