He received his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and graduate degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Awtar worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the General Electric Corporate R&D. His current research and teaching interests lie in machine design, flexure mechanisms, mechatronic systems and precision engineering. Awtar is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award and the Research & Development Magazine's RD100 Award.