His research focuses on the development of novel optical and electronic devices for applications in communications, energy, and sensing. Prof. Ram is widely acknowledged for his work in the field of optoelectronics and he is one of the pioneers in the semiconductor based laser science and technology using both III-V and Si-Ge material systems. He also serves as the Director of the MIT Center for Integrated Photonics Systems (CIPS), as part of which he coordinates an industrial working group examining next-generation networks and component technologies.