Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Material Science and Engineering, University of Washington, 2020
  • B.S.E., Polymer Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2014
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Metallurgical, California, #2065
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 materials science, physicochemical structure, and related bulk properties, which he applies to assist clients in a range of industries, including building materials, construction, paints and coatings, consumer electronics, and automotive components. During his tenure at Exponent, Dr. Onorato has led investigations of plastic plumbing components including those made from cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), polypropylene, and chlorinated (CPVC/PVC), paints and coating systems (for example, steel protective coatings and intumescent coatings), and exterior cladding and roofing material systems. Dr. Onorato has also assisted clients with product compliance investigations, product redesign efforts, and intellectual property evaluations. 

Leveraging his knowledge of structure-property relationships and his training as a materials scientist, Dr. Onorato is adept at understanding the performance of complex material systems. His expertise also extends to material characterization utilizing testing methods to connect material chemistry and with bulk 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.