Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Material Science and Engineering, University of Washington, 2020
  • B.S.E., Polymer Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2014
Professional Honors
  • NSF DIRECT Data Science Fellowship (2019)
  • ACS Polymer Chemistry Division’s Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research (2019)
  • UW Clean Energy Institute Graduate Fellowship (2017)

Dr. Onorato's core expertise is at the intersection of polymer chemistry, physicochemical structure, and related bulk properties, especially for materials used in mechanical, electronic, and optical applications. Leveraging his knowledge of structure-property relationships and his training as a materials scientist, he is adept at understanding the performance of complex material systems, designing molecules and polymers to target specific needs, and carrying out the necessary synthetic chemistry to create them. His expertise also extends to material characterization utilizing testing methods to connect material chemistry and properties for materials such as plastics, rubbers, adhesives, electronics, optical composites and coatings, and organic thin films.

Dr. Onorato is highly experienced in a range of material characterization techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, gel-permeation chromatography, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization — time of flight, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thin-film and bulk techniques including differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, X-ray diffraction, and mechanical testing. He has experience fabricating organic thin films using spin-coating, inkjet printing, doctor blading, and electrochemical deposition. He is also proficient in the synthesis of polymers and small molecules, including using reactive and air sensitive techniques.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Onorato was a Senior Organic Chemist at Meta Reality Labs, where he worked with optoelectronic devices in consumer electronics through multiple scales of production, building devices with state-of-the-art optical performance and stability with robust and scalable chemical processes. He also worked extensively with thin films in optical devices, targeting high reliability and UV-stability in liquid optically clear adhesives. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, his work centered on crystallinity in organic electronics and developing novel ion and electron conducting polymers, which see application in batteries, organic electrochemical transistors, and organic electrochromics.