At Duke University, which she joined in 2004, Stiff-Roberts leads a lab focussed on Resonant Infrared Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (RIR-MAPLE). This is a versatile technology that has evolved from pulsed laser deposition, which offers precise control of a material's composition. The technique involves freezing a solution of molecular building blocks, then blasting them with a laser in a vacuum chamber. The laser is tuned to the molecular bonds of the frozen solvent. She is working with David Mitzi to create perovskite solar cells.