Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 2025
  • M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 2022
  • B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, 2020
Additional Education & Training
  • Polymer Upcycling Short Course, American Physical Society, 2022
Professional Honors
  • Geoffrey Belton Award, University of Pennsylvania Department of Material Science and Engineering, 2023
  • Graduate Fellowship, Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, 2022
Professional Affiliations
  • American Physical Society - Member
  • American Chemical Society - Member
  • Tau Beta Pi – Member
  • ASTM International – Member of the E37 committee and E37.01, E37.03, E37.05, E37.08, and E37.10 subcommittee

Dr. Eli Fastow is a consulting polymer scientist at Exponent specializing in soft materials analysis, with a robust grounding in fundamental polymer physics and extensive experience characterizing structure-property-processing relationships. He has experience investigating novel polyolefin copolymers for high-performance and consumer applications, contributing to the development and commercialization of polymeric coating materials, and resolving challenges related to polymer manufacturing. 

Dr. Fastow is an experienced soft matter analytical scientist with expertise in a wide range of characterization techniques. He supports clients with subject matter expertise such as thermal analysis (e.g. DSC and TGA), microscopy (e.g. SEM/EDS, optical, and AFM), scattering (e.g. SAXS, WAXS, and DLS), spectroscopy (e.g. FTIR and UV-Vis), separations (e.g. High-temp GPC, conventional GPC), and a particular expertise in DMA and rheology. He has led analytical method development across a range of material systems and characterization techniques to turn complex problems into actionable insights, accelerating product development and improving material performance.

Dr. Fastow's technical background includes in-depth experience with polyolefin copolymers, latex coatings, and a broad range of characterization techniques. His doctoral research at University of Pennsylvania focused on polymer-to-polymer transformations for plastic upcycling. He worked with an interdisciplinary team on a Department of Energy-funded project to functionalize polyolefins to create high-value copolymers for consumer and industrial applications, including food packaging and cable jacketing. His primary contributions to this project comprised robust analytical science, including scattering, thermal, surface, rheological, and mechanical characterization techniques. Additionally, Dr. Fastow developed extensive experience with polymer processing (including thermoforming and extrusion) and its commensurate impact on polymer structure (crystallinity and phase morphology).  

While at The Dow Chemical Company, he supported latex coatings product development, commercialization, sampling, and scale-up throughout the entire product lifecycle as a subject matter expert in rheology, thermal analysis, and microscopy. Dr. Fastow also has experience in polymer sustainability, including the development of bio-based consumer materials, selection of additives with reduced hazard profiles, and development of chemical recycling processes.