His areas of expertise are electronic transport measurements on novel nanoscale materials, scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of nanoscale thermal/mechanical/electronic devices, and nanomaterials synthesis. His work in the area of carbon nanotubes has generated excitement in the nanotechnology world. Ishigami has a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and he has authored dozens of articles, which have been cited more than 4,300 times by other scientists. He has more than $1 million in research grants and is a frequently invited speaker at conferences around the world. He works with a dozen undergraduate and almost another dozen graduate students in his lab.