The mission of the Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Laboratory is the fundamental science investigation of phonons in advanced materials and the development of innovative methods for controlling phonon transport and phonon interactions with electrons and photons for future electronics and direct energy conversion technologies. Phonons are quanta of crystal lattice vibrations. Phonons affect the electronic, thermal, optical, and magnetic properties of materials. Acoustic phonons are the main heat carriers in semiconductor and electrically insulating materials. Optical phonons define many optical characteristics of materials. Together, acoustic and optical phonons, scatter electrons, limiting electron mobility in semiconductor materials. The field of phononics or phonon engineering comprises the study of quanta of crystal lattice vibrations, whose characteristics influence the properties of bulk and nanostructured materials. Phononics of lower-dimensional material systems is particularly interesting, enabling one to elucidate the physics of crystal lattice vibrations and to engineer the phonon spectrum to achieve new properties and functionalities of the materials