OU Engineering Professors Selected for Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame

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Two engineering educators at the University of Oklahoma have been selected as inductees into the 2020 Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame for their distinctive achievements and contributions to higher education.

David Sabatini, founding director of the Water Technologies for Emerging Regions Center and associate director of the Institute for Applied Surfactant Research in the Gallogly College of Engineering; and Daniel Resasco, Gallogly Chair of Chemical Engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering; are among this year’s 11 inductees.

“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Sabatini and Dr. Resasco, who have worked hard throughout their careers to earn this prestigious honor,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “Their selection is a testament to their commitment to their students, research and the University of Oklahoma. We are fortunate to have world-class faculty like them who help advance our sacred purpose.”

Since 1994, the Oklahoma Higher Education Society has recognized individuals whose achievement and leadership in scholarship, teaching, research, administration, staff support, outreach and public service have brought honor and distinction to higher education in Oklahoma by inducting them into the Hall of Fame. To date, more than 200 individuals have been honored.

Sabatini is the director of the Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center and serves as the associate director of the Institute for Applied Surfactant Research. He joined OU in 1989 and is a David Boyd Professor and Sun Oil Co. Endowed Chair of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science.

His research focuses on sustainable drinking water systems for developing countries, surfactant-based environmental and biofuel technologies, and understanding/characterizing contaminant transport and remediation in the subsurface.

He is the associate editor of the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, associate editor of Journal of Surfactants and Detergents and an editorial board member of the Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. He has co-authored or co-edited four books and more than 200 refereed journal publications. 

Sabatini has received numerous awards, including the International Service Award from the U.S. National Chapter of International Association of Hydrogeologists, Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Teaching from the Oklahoma Foundation of Excellence and the OU David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement. 

He earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his master of science degree from Memphis State University and his doctorate from Iowa State University, all in civil engineering. 

Resasco is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and holds the inaugural Gallogly Chair of Engineering. His research focuses on material synthesis, characterization of materials under reaction conditions and precise measurement of the catalytic behavior with the goal of understanding the relationship between the catalytic performance and the microscopic structure and composition of the material, in addition to the links between the synthesis process and the final catalyst. He has co-authored 300 articles and 30 patents.

In 2003, Resasco was named a George Lynn Cross Professor, the highest research honor bestowed by OU. He has also received the N.N. Bakhshi Lectureship Award in Chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, the Oklahoma Chemist of the Year Award from the American Chemical Society and was a finalist for the Small Times U.S. Innovator of the Year in 2007. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina.

He earned his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina and his doctorate from Yale University.

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