Okun, Daniel Alexander

Daniel Alexander Okun, Chair of the Faculty

Throughout his career, Daniel Okun worked in 89 countries and consulted with municipal and legislative planning committees throughout the United States. His many contributions included designing a water treatment plant in Bangkok, Thailand; establishing a graduate program in sanitary engineering in Lima, Peru; and studying water supply and pollution control in China.

Okun was born in New York City in 1917. From 1933-1937, he attended Cooper Union Institute in New York City, earning a BS in Civil Engineering. He then went on to earn a master's degree in civil engineering in 1938 from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. After working for two years as a Sanitary Engineering Officer for the U.S. Public Health Service, Okun joined the Army's Sanitary Corps in 1942, working in Newfoundland, SW Pacific, Latin America, and the Philippines. He was discharged in 1946 at the rank of Major. After the Army, Okun attended Harvard University, earning his Doctorate in Sanitary Engineering. His work there, inspired by Malcolm Pirnie (who he would later work for from 1948-1952) led to the use of pure oxygen in wastewater treatment.

1952 marked the start of Okun's affiliation with UNC. He remained at UNC until he retired in 1982, serving as the chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering from 1955-1973, and as the Keenan Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering starting in 1973. While holding the title of chair, Okun's department grew from three to 25 faculty members. During his tenure at UNC, his research interests included the development of dual water systems for the purpose of conserving scarce resources of high quality water by reclaiming wastewaters and other poor quality waters for myriad non-potable purposes such as irrigation, toilet flushing, cooling towers, and industry.

After his retirement, Okun remained actively involved in the profession through writing, lecturing and consulting. His post-retirement work included the campaign to build Cane Creek Dam and Reservoir in Chapel Hill to ensure the most pristine water source possible for Chapel Hill and the UNC campus. He died on December 7, 2007 at the age of 90. He had over 39 awards to his name, including a Fulbright, and was a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.