Themis Matsoukas: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Themis Matsoukas is a Penn State Professor who is accused of committing sexual acts with his dog in Rothrock State Forest in Pennsylvania, according to Centre Daily.

A criminal complaint filed by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and obtained by Centre Daily, says that Matsoukas, 64, of State College, Pennsylvania is accused of being caught on camera near the restrooms engaging in sexual acts with a pet Collie.

Penn State has placed Matsoukas on leave, Centre Daily reported.

Court records show Matsoukas is charged with sexual intercourse with an animal, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, cruelty to animals, and open lewdness.

Court records indicate he has a hearing in July.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Themis Matsoukas Is Accused of Being Caught on a Trail Camera ‘Nude From the Waist Down’

LinkedInThemis Matsoukas

Matsoukas “was identified by park rangers by his North Face backpack,” which authorities could see in the camera footage, Centre Daily reported, adding that the incident occurred on April 13, 2023.

The video footage showed Matsoukas “nude from the waist down, except for socks and shoes,” and other video footage also captured him in 2014, the complaint said, according to Centre Daily. According to Onward Daily, he was wearing “a ski mask, wrist watch, boots and backpack.”

Heavy has reached out to the state Department of Conservation and National Resources for additional details.

According to Fox43, the agency started investigating after a trail camera that was installed due to restroom thefts captured images of Matsoukas “engaging in lewd acts in and around the parking lot and restroom.”

The television station reported that he was accused of trying to record himself with an electronic tablet.

2. Themis Matsoukas Is Accused of Saying, ‘I Do It to Blow Off Steam’

According to Fox43, after authorities arrived at his home with search warrants, Matsoukas became “visibly nervous” and said, “I’m done, I’m dead.”

He told the rangers to shoot him, saying, “I need to die,” Fox43 reported, citing the charging documents.

He is accused of telling investigators, “I do it to blow off steam,” Fox43 reported, adding that they found a collie in his home that matched the animal in the video.

3. Themis Matsoukas Works as a Chemical Engineering Professor at Penn State

On LinkedIn, Matouskas wrote that he has been a professor of Chemical Engineering at Penn State for more than 32 years.

He studied at the National Technical University of Athens, where he received a diploma in chemical engineering in 1983, the page says.

He received his Ph.D in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the LinkedIn page says.

It says that he did post-doctorate work in chemical engineering at UCLA.

Matsoukas is a Democratic political donor, giving money to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, according to federal records.

4. Themis Matsoukas Authored a Textbook & Won Teaching Awards at Penn State

According to the Global Home of Chemical Engineers, Matsoukas “taught graduate and undergraduate courses in chemical thermodynamics for over 20 years and is the author of a recent undergraduate textbook on the Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics.”

His research “focuses on nano colloidal systems and in the application of stochastic population balance models to particulate processes,” the biography says.

“He has been recognized with several awards at Penn State, including the George W. Atherton Award for excellence in Teaching, the Out-standing Teaching Award from the Penn State Engineering Society, and the Out-standing Professor of the Year Award from the student chapter of the AIChE.”

5. Students Praised Themis Matsoukas for Caring About His Students on Rate My Professors

Rate My ProfessorsThemis Matsoukas’s Rate my Professors ratings.

There are some positive reviews on Matsoukas’s Rate My Professors page. “Matsoukas clearly cares about his students and the topic. His lectures are not mandatory but you need to go to understand the material. He does have a bunch of typos/algebra mistakes but does give EC if you are the first one to point them out. Pretty forgiving with HW/exam grading too (gives partial credit). Overall, a good intro prof for ChemEs,” reads one.

“He cares about his students. He introduces the concepts on Cheme very well. YOU HAVE TO GO TO CLASS. THIS IS NOT A TEXTBOOK READING TYPA THING. JUST GO,” read another.

“I had Prof. Matsoukas for both Che 220 and 320 and I really have nothing bad to say about him. He is extremely fair with his assignments and exams, and is very knowledgable. He is also very accommodating to his students and his class was by far the best in terms of adapting to zoom classes during the pandemic. Take classes with him if you can,” another student wrote.

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