Our research primarily concentrates on advancing the frontier of epitaxy science and engineering, a necessity to extrapolate the exceptional properties of emerging two-dimensional (2D) layered materials for pragmatic applications. These materials span a wide range, including chalcogenides, carbides, nitrides, borophene, perovskites, oxides, and graphene. Our distinctiveness lies in our contribution of (1) inventive theories regarding epitaxy mechanisms (as published in Nature Materials, 2020 & 2022, Matter 2023) and (2) an augmented understanding of 2D mechanics (as disclosed in Nature Electronics 2021 and Nature Nanotechnology 2022, 2023). These contributions equip us with the capability to investigate unexplored structure-property-function relationships, a fundamental step in the development of novel applications of 2D materials. Furthermore, our research enables the assembly of these materials into mixed-dimensional van der Waals (VDW) heterostructures. These structures hold vast potential for a variety of applications, encompassing electrochemical capacitors, catalysis, reactor and separation technologies, drug delivery systems, electronic skin sensing, and highly sophisticated composites.