Lori E. Tunstall is an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines. Her research focuses on developing solutions to improve concrete’s durability and sustainability using a materials science approach. Currently, Dr. Tunstall is focused on two specific research thrusts: 1) using basic science to improve the feasibility of biochar as a cement replacement to reduce concrete's carbon footprint by at least 50%; 2) improving the industry's fundamental understanding of air entrainment in concrete to help efficiently solve problems with air entrainment in more complex systems, for example ones containing superplasticizers and carbon-contaminated fly ash.

Prof. Tunstall earned a joint Ph.D. in Materials Science and Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University in 2016 and continued as a postdoctoral researcher for an additional year. Princeton distinguished Prof. Tunstall with two awards during her graduate program, the Wu Graduate Fellowship in Engineering and Princeton’s Emerging Alumni Scholars Award for 2015 – 2016. Following her postdoctoral position, Prof. Tunstall joined Honeywell FM&T as a materials scientist from 2017 to 2019, where she oversaw the development of processes and materials for novel applications of additive manufacturing, receiving the 2017 Defense Programs Award of Excellence for her contributions in solving a critical manufacturing issue.