[1] Curtiss is a specialist in developing quantum chemical methods for accurate energy calculations and applying these methods to energy- and material-related problems, including those related to catalysis, batteries, and carbon materials.
[5] Curtiss's thesis focused on quantum chemical studies of hydrogen bonded complexes.
After graduating in 1973, he became a research fellow at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio until 1976.
[4] From 2006 until 2009, he was also an acting group leader at the Center for Nanoscale Materials, and from 2004 until 2018, Curtiss was a senior fellow of the University of Chicago/Argonne Computation Institute.
[10][11] Curtiss and researchers from Argonne and the University of Illinois also designed a lithium-air battery that works in a natural air environment for over 700 charge and discharge cycles, surpassing previous technology.