Phil Parilla is the group manager for the Thin-Film Material Science and Processing group at NLR, which focuses on relevant thin-film technologies, especially thin-film photovoltaic materials and devices such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). The group also has activities in atmospheric processing of films using ink-based precursor materials, scaling up these films using, e.g., roll-to-roll processing and atomic layer deposition for applications. He also manages the majority of X-ray characterization equipment at NLR, specifically X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence instrumentation. Additionally, he has a comprehensive background in measuring and analyzing electronic transport properties such as AC and DC conductivity, Hall and Seebeck effects, magnetoresistivity, and thermal conductivity. 

Phil Parilla's research interests cover photovoltaic materials, hydrogen sorption materials, thermoelectric materials and devices, carbon nanotubes, inorganic fullerenes, metal oxides for battery and electronic applications, and high-temperature superconductors.

He is an expert in measuring the hydrogen sorption properties of materials using the manometric technique, and NLR serves as the validation center for EERE's Hydrogen Storage program. He is also an expert in X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. Currently, he is active in characterizing thermoelectric generators and measuring the thermal conductivity of materials.