His research interests include millimeter wave and integrated electronics for applications in astrophysics and Earth remote sensing. In his current role he guides strategic decision making for technology and science investments related to astronomy and physics.
He oversaw and advocated for a variety of technologies related to future astrophysics missions. These include UV and far-IR detectors, large optical systems and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). His former group continues to develop technologies and instruments using monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) components operating at frequencies 1-250 GHz. Projects developed in the group included the Planck-LFI mission to study the anisotropy and polarization of the CMB; the Q/U Imaging Experiment (QUIET) exploring the polarization of the CMB; GeoSTAR an interferometric synthetic aperture imager for Earth atmospheric sounding from geostationary orbit; the Advanced Microwave Radiometers for the Jason-II and III Missions mapping small variations in sea level across the globe monitoring conditions such as El-Nino, the integrated receivers for the Juno Microwave Radiometers, the Compact Ocean Vector Wind Radiometer, and TEMPEST-D for which Dr. Gaier served as Project Manager and Co-Investigator.