Pitenis' research begins at the intersection of materials science, physics, chemistry, and biology, and aims to understand interfacial phenomena and energy-dissipation at the interfaces of soft materials. Her research group focuses on friction, adhesion, wear, and deformation of complex surfaces - from living cells to polymer nanocomposites. These interfacial interactions transpire over multiple length- and time-scales, often in extreme environments and within buried interfaces. Students in the group will acquire proficiency in a wide array of in situ experimental techniques (e.g., microscopy, spectroscopy, and interferometry) to access these interfaces and gain mechanistic insights into dynamically evolving material systems. The immediate impacts of these research efforts are in healthcare, energy, sustainability, and engineering design.