The ability to customize surface properties is a powerful tool to make the surfaces biologically compatible and to enable biomolecular interactions. Combining chemical surface modifications with patterning techniques enables arrays of miniaturized biosensors to be constructed. The Surface Engineering group is developing and applying surface functionalization protocols that are simple, inexpensive, reliable and cleanroom compatible to obtain highly specific binding of biomolecules while simultaneously providing biocompatibility and minimizing nonspecific adsorption. Further, the group is developing methods to provide spatially addressable chemical patterns, tailoring individual surface areas to the specific surface properties needed. Because micro- and nanostructures controls many of the physical properties of the coatings the Surface Engineering group is actively pursuing research in combining multilayer coatings of inorganic and organic layers with micro- and nanostructures to develop new advanced tribological nano-coatings enabling significant improvements of the coatings mechanical, chemical and optical properties.