Biography

 Dr. Abutunis earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri S&T. His Ph.D. research focused on developing hydrokinetic turbines for low-head and small-streams applications. He also participated in research studies in composites, additive manufacturing, and steel manufacturing. As a graduate teaching assistant at Missouri S&T, he taught Control Systems Lab, in which he was awarded the College of Engineering and Computing Graduate Educator Award in 2019. He also received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award twice, in 2015 and 2018.

Dr. Abutunis held a Postdoctoral Associate and Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) between Jan 2020 to May 2022, where he taught courses and a lab related to materials. His research at UMD focused on hydrokinetic energy, composites, additive manufacturing, injection molding, biodegradable materials, and system design.

Dr. Abutunis is currently Assistant Professor in the MAE department at Missouri S&T, teaching controls, thermofluid, and Dynamics. 

Dr. Abutunis is a member of ASME and SAMPE. 

Research Interests

Hydrokinetic and Wind energy; composites; additive manufacturing; injection molding; system design. 

Education

• 2020 – Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology
• 2014 – M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Technology, Hoon, Libya