After graduating from the Technion (BSc in Physics and in Materials Engineering in 1997, PhD in 2003) he spent three years at MIT as a postdoctoral researcher in Harry Tuller's group. In 2006 he returned back to the Technion as a faculty member. Avner is heading the Electroceramic Materials & Devices research group, working on semiconducting, ionic and mixed ionic electronic conducting oxides for applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices, gas sensors and solar cells. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Electroceramics, the Technion Energy Team, and Israel's Solar Fuels Consortium.