51ÉçÇø

Dr. Pittelli's expertise resides at the interface of fundamental chemistry and materials science, with a focus on compositional analysis and structure-property relationships of a variety of materials. With extensive expertise in analytical chemistry, materials characterization, failure analysis, and material compatibility, Dr. Pittelli is able to support clients in solving technical problems and providing analysis related to a myriad of industries and applications. Dr. Pittelli's interdisciplinary training and experience have allowed her to apply her expertise to proactive and reactive matters related to coatings and adhesives, building and construction materials, packaging materials, pigments, secure identity documents, and consumer products including, but not limited to: biomedical devices, wearables, textiles, appliances, and cosmetics. Through her experience in these industries and applications, Dr. Pittelli has been able to assist clients in navigating material and device performance, product manufacturing and recalls, regulatory submissions, risk assessments, product design and development, material aging, and quality assurance.

Dr. Pittelli specializes in chemical characterization and analysis of materials with extensive expertise in a number of techniques including: UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), tensile testing, atomic force microscopy (AFM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC), and grazing-incidence wide-angle x-ray scattering (GIWAXS). In addition, she is well-versed in ASTM and ISO methodologies and standards for material and polymer characterization for a variety of applications.  

In addition to general polymer characterization, Dr. Pittelli specializes in material processing with experience in various solution-based methods for coating polymer films (including spray coating, spin coating, doctor blade coating, dip coating, and vapor deposition) and understanding the effects of drying dynamics on polymer film properties. She also has experience with industrial scale printing techniques on both paper and polymer substrates, such as inkjet, intaglio, and offset printing. She is experienced in a variety of electrochemical techniques including differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, electrochemical conductance measurements, and in situ spectroelectrochemistry. Dr. Pittelli also has extensive experience in the quantification and perception of color and color differences in a variety of materials.

Beyond her polymer chemistry and materials science expertise, Dr. Pittelli is also a knowledgeable project manager and can assist clients with the implementation of the Agile project management approach and Stage-Gate product development method. In addition, she also has experience assisting clients with quality assurance needs as they relate to manufacturing defects, material processing, and testing protocol development and validation.

Prior to joining 51ÉçÇø, Dr. Pittelli received her Ph.D. in chemistry, with a concentration in polymer chemistry, from the Georgia Institute of Technology and worked in the research group of Dr. John R. Reynolds.She conducted her doctoral research in the field of organic electronics, specifically focusing on the structure-property relationships of polydioxythiophenes and conjugated polymers. Her thesis work demonstrated how the structure of conductive polymers can affect the charge transport properties after chemical or electrochemical doping. Through this work, she developed a scalable and roll-to-roll compatible fabrication process to construct electrochemical devices for electrochromic applications.