As Chairman and Chief Engineer of Science & Technology for Phil-Lu, Inc., he is responsible for all the company patents and products currently under development. He has also been a consultant for Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Arthur D. Little, Inc. and Lopat Enterprises and worked in association with renowned surgeons on the development of microsurgical instruments. He has won awards too numerous to mention and appeared on television on such shows as ABC World News with Peter Jennings, CBS News with Morley Alter, NBC Nightly News, as well as on many cable television network programs.

One of Dr. Petillo's most high profile inventions is an improved guitar fret. A fret is a metal bar placed at intervals along the neck of the guitar. The note created depends on which fret the musician presses the string onto when the string is plucked. The conventional fret is rhombus-shaped which allows for compression form the fret edge to the center and any place between. Dr. Petillo's fret design is triangular in shape for a cleaner, smoother sound an effortless playing. Also, due to a "space age" metal alloy, the frets and strings last longer.

In addition to holding a number of instrument patents, Dr. Petillo has been constructing, repairing and restoring guitars for over 30 years. His list of clients include: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Sting, Michael Jackson, Dave Mason, June Carter, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Waylon Jennings, the late Johnny Cash and the legendary Elvis Presley.