Professor Maier is the Lee-Lucas Chair in Experimental Physics and head of the Hybrid Nanosystems Research Group in the Condensed Matter Physics Section. He further served as Head of the Experimental Solid State Physics Group (2016–2018) and as Director of Postgraduate Studies (2014–2018) for the department.

The group conducts a wide variety of fundamental and applied research in nanoplasmonics, nanophotonics, and metamaterials, ranging from unravelling light/matter interactions on the nanoscale, to the development of highly efficient optical biosensors, light harvesting nanostructures for photovoltaics, and the development of new materials and devices for photonic nanotechnology.