Simon Allen, D. Phil.
Laboratory Director
Intertek MSG
Simon obtained his D.Phil. from Oxford University in 1982, and since then has worked continuously in the field of materials characterisation – first with ICI, and since 2007 with Intertek. Simon’s team in the UK has many years of experience in the characterisation of Nanomaterials, and Simon himself has been active in the management of a number of collaborative projects in the field, including the major UK DTI-funded Nanocentral programme. Simon has, over the years, published a number of papers and book chapters in the field optical characterisation of materials.
John M. Zielinski, PhD Chemical Engineering
Diffusion, Equilibrium, Permeation, and Porosity Analyses
John earned his PhD from The Pennsylvania State University in 1992 and was a visiting scholar, supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Society and the National Science Foundation, at the Universität Mainz/Max Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Germany, from 1993 to 1994. He was a lead research engineer at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. until transitioning to his role as supervisor of the Sorption Characterization Lab at Intertek ASA.
John’s career has focused on the characterization of a broad range of porous materials used for gas separation and purification applications. In addition, he has applied his chemical engineering background to elucidate multicomponent molecular transport within various media including polymer films and molecular sieving materials. These studies required the development of analytical methods to: 1) probe the equilibrium and diffusion characteristics of gases and vapors within a variety of materials and 2) illuminate the effect of pore structure on material performance.
Dr. Zielinski is the author of forty-two peer-reviewed journal articles and serves as an adjunct professor for the Department of Chemical Engineering at Penn State. He is a member of the Alexander von Humboldt Society of America and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Peter DeSanto Jr., PhD Chemical Engineering
Diffraction, Crystallography, and Microscopy
Pete obtained a BS in Chemistry at Millersville University in 1996 and a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware in 2003. His PhD thesis was focused on the structure property relationships of mixed-metal oxide catalysts. He then spent 1 year at the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory at NIST as an NRC Post-doctoral Research Fellow continuing research on metal oxide catalysts and model systems for studying phenomena in high-temperature super conductors. Peter taught for 2 years as a visiting professor in the Department of Chemistry at Bloomsburg University followed by 4 years as a research engineer and analytical chemist at Air Products and Chemicals. He is currently the X-ray diffraction expert for Intertek ASA in Allentown, PA. His areas of expertise include heterogeneous catalysis, x-ray diffraction, crystallography, and transmission electron microscopy.
Todd M. McEvoy, PhD Chemistry
Microscopy, Surface Analysis, and Electrochemistry
Todd graduated with a BS in Chemistry and with Honors from Shippensburg University in 1998. In August 1998 he entered the University of Texas at Austin to pursue his Doctorate in Chemistry under the guidance of Professor Keith J. Stevenson. His work at UT focused on developing integrated spectral, microscopic and electrochemical methods to study charge storage processes in electrochromic ion-storage materials. Upon graduation in 2003 he became a NRC Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory for Jeffrey Long and Debra Rolison. There he was developing new hybrid polymer/carbon materials for ultracapacitor applications. Todd joined the Analytical group at Air Products and Chemicals in 2004 where he was part of the surface characterization lab supporting a wide variety of groups across Technology. He also worked on bench and pilot scale advanced oxidation water treatment processes within the Water group in Merchant R&D. He joined Intertek in 2010, and is currently involved in solving complex problems through the use of analytical science. His areas of expertise include electrochemistry, microscopy, and surface science.
Scott D. Hanton, PhD Chemistry
Polymer Mass Spectrometry and Surface Analysis
Scott earned a BS in Chemistry from the Honors College at Michigan State University in 1985 and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990. Scott’s graduate work focused on measuring the reaction rates of specific excited states of metal cations with small hydrocarbons in the gas phase. After graduation he joined the Analytical Science Department at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. in Allentown, PA as the laser science expert. Over time, his interest in laser science developed into expertise in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. He also developed expertise in time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to enable the characterization of surfaces. In addition to his research career, Scott has also been active in laboratory management. Scott transitioned to Intertek ASA in 2010 in the dual role of Chief Scientist and Laboratory Operations Manager.
Dr. Hanton is the author of thirty-six peer-reviewed journal articles, serves as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (JASMS), and is on the board of directors for the Laboratory Managers Association (ALMA).
