Ursel Bangerts current research is focussed on fundamental investigations of the local dependence of opto-electronic properties and tailoring thereof, in 1D semiconductor assemblies, carbon nanotubes, graphene and other novel 2-D materials, e.g., transition metal dichalcogenides and MXene, aiming at practical use in photo-emission, optical enhancers, wave guides, photovoltaics, quantum metrology and at design of prototype devices. She has pioneered work in ultrahigh resolution high angle dark field imaging of graphene (first to show atomic-scale impurity and defect behaviour, e.g., metal-atom mediated graphene etching and healing), in tailoring plasmon characteristics of graphene, and in single atom spectroscopy (first to demonstrate spectroscopic fingerprinting of controllably introduced foreign atoms in nano-carbons, i.e., revealing simultaneously chemical bonding configuration and lattice position of a single impurity atom. This was achieved by new developments in sub-and#506; imaging and analytical electron microscopy (EELS) at the Daresbury SuperSTEM. Furthermore, electron energy loss spectroscopy at ultra low loss energies (valence band EELS) provided first evidence of the impact of microstructural defects on the local electronic bandstructure when combined with theoretical backup (ab initio calculations) through collaboration with theoretical groups (e.g., at Exeter and Leeds University). Application-oriented research objectives concern tailoring and tuning of the opto-electronic properties of novel 2-D versions of dichalcogenides (including materials with negative plasmon dispersion for direct light coupling) and of MAX phases (MXenes -andgt;unknown territory) through controlled physical and chemical functionalisation via ion beam modification. The same approach is taken with carbon nanotubes for applications in optical enhancers, wave guides, photonic and light harvesting devices as well as for integration into semiconductor electronics. Ion beam modification has also been applied for doping silica/Si-nanoscrystal systems with rare-earth elements to achieve light emission and thereby develop silicon photonics technologies. Past research has included establishing the role of defects in the ageing and failure mechanisms of semiconductor devices. Further to the academic aspect, the investigations were aimed at trouble shooting in real devices in order to cut market losses of, e.g., semiconductor lasers. This entailed exploring electron microscopies/ spectroscopies with ultra high spatial resolution and to apply these to materials of wide and medium bandgaps enabling spatially resolved chemical and electronic structure studies, via EELS, of self-organized growth phenomena in strained  III-V semiconductor hetero systems and SiGe.  Thus a universal roughening transition curve (temperature versus strain) and strain driven compositional segregation in semiconductor quantum wells, wires and dots could be established. Furthermore, bandgap states at extended defects in wide band gap semiconductors, diamond and perovskites and surface plasmon phenomena in nanocarbons, semiconductor and metal nanospheres could be revealed. A persisting goal is to improve the energy resolution in electron spectroscopy and to combine electron microscopy with simultaneous optical excitation and detection, which will enable in-situ assessment of a materials electronic bandstructure on the nanoscopic scale