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Memorial Tributes Volume 16 (2012) / Chapter Skim
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DONALD J . O'CONNOR
Pages 206-211

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From page 207...
... His early family influences initially led Don toward the liberal arts, with thoughts of following his father into a career as a scenic artist. The tough economic times of the 1930s, however, led Don to ultimately pursue a more practical career in engineering.
From page 208...
... While juggling the responsibilities of a full-time job and a new family, Don began his doctoral work in sanitary engineering at New York University. Shortly after, he left his full-time job as a structural design engineer to assume a fulltime teaching position at Manhattan College.
From page 209...
... Realizing the need for expert services in sanitary engineering and water quality modeling, Don and fellow faculty colleague Wes Eckenfelder founded Hydroscience, Inc., in 1962. This was one of the first consulting firms in the country to specialize in combined wastewater treatment planning and analysis of water quality impacts.
From page 210...
... Don's work in mathematical modeling of water quality will always stand next to that of the great researchers and practitioners in the environmental field. The insights gained through carefully constructed analytical models of water quality processes, developed long before the advent of modern computers, and the steadfast insistence on comparison of model results to observed data are hallmarks of his work.
From page 211...
... Don opened our minds to the many dynamic processes affecting streams, lakes, and estuaries through the beauty of mathematical modeling for which we are all forever grateful. Don is survived by his children -- Dennis O'Connor, Arlene O'Connor Bell, and Jeanette O'Connor -- and by two grandchildren, Christopher and Kristin, as well as by many of his former colleagues and students whom he deeply inspired during his wonderful career.


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