Prof. Paola Rizzo obtained her degree in Chemistry in 1993 from the University of Naples. She earned her Ph.D. in 1998. Early in her academic career, in 1994, she was awarded a scholarship by the University of Naples and conducted research at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas, USA), focusing on diffusion phenomena in liquid systems.

In 1997, she collaborated with Dr. Bernard Lots at the Institut Charles Sadron in Strasbourg, France, where she studied the structural and morphological aspects of syndiotactic polystyrene (s-PS) polymers. During the academic years 1997–1999, she also held teaching responsibilities at the University of Salerno.

From May 1999 to February 2000, Prof. Rizzo worked as a researcher at the Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi S.p.A. Research Center, specializing in the characterization of polymeric materials. Since March 2000, she has served as a researcher and professor of Industrial Chemistry at the University of Salerno.

Her primary research interests focus on the structural characterization of polymeric materials, particularly on structure–property correlations. A significant part of her work is dedicated to syndiotactic polystyrene (s-PS), investigating both its crystalline structures and morphological features. She is notably involved in the study of clathrate-forming polymeric systems and has discovered a novel host crystalline form of s-PS capable of forming cocrystals with low-molecular-mass molecules of high polarity and hyperpolarizability—materials with potential optical and electrical applications.

Prof. Rizzo also explores molecular orientation in polymer films, including s-PS, poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO). Her work aims to develop uniplanar orientations in polymeric films to investigate anisotropic diffusion and transport kinetics of guest molecules.

Currently, her research extends to the study of chiral amplification phenomena and memory effects in polymeric films.