DONALD SASSCER

1929 - 2020

SASSCER Donald Stuart Sasscer June 30, 1929 - May 1, 2020 Donald Stuart Sasscer passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 90. He was born and raised in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC, with his family moving back and forth to Ogden, Utah. He attended Calvin Coolidge High School. He earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah and an MS and PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Iowa State University. After 40 years away, he moved back to the DC area in 2003. Dr. Sasscer was a pioneer and scientific researcher in the area of innovative sources of energy, anticipating the world's need for alternatives to fossil fuels. He made significant contributions to solar energy in the form of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and served as the head of the OTEC Division of the Center for Energy and Environmental Research at the University of Puerto Rico where he managed projects funded by six different organizations, including the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA. He conducted research and consulted at Brookhaven and Argonne National Laboratories, the Ames Laboratory of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Solar Energy Laboratory of Florida, University of Florida, the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, and served as Associate Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Northwestern University. Dr. Sasscer received numerous honors including being a special fellow of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, a member of the New York Academy of Science and Engineering, and is listed in Who's Who of American Men and Women of Science. He was also a beloved and recognized professor, teaching at Iowa State University and the University of Puerto Rico, where he served as Head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering. His courage and spirit of giving went well beyond academia. As a retiree, he helped Latino immigrants with job training and placement, guided adult education providers with grant writing and submissions, volunteered at a homeless shelter, and travelled to El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity. Perhaps most remarkably, in 2002 he and his wife, Ruth, braved a trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) on behalf of their church's mission. His lasting legacy with his family, friends and colleagues will be his kindness, humor, empathy, patience, courage, wisdom, and overflowing love. He will be remembered by many as an avid reader and amateur historian who engaged in debate for sport. Not only could he recite Invictus by heart but he could discuss the impact of the introduction of the Messerschmidt 262 at the end of World War ll with the best of them. And his love of current events and politics informed and entertained everyone he knew throughout his life. His wife and children will always remember him as being there for them. His children remember that not only was he the in-house resource for science and math homework help, but he always took time to help with extracurricular activities. He even learned to ride a horse (successfully) and took a stab at surfing (less successfully) in order to better share in their interests. Don is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Ruth, their four children, Timothy, James, Julie and David; and six grandchildren. Services will be scheduled for a later date. Services will be scheduled for a later date.