Rate My Professor Thomas Missimer

Thomas M. Missimer is Professor Emeritus in the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University, specializing in hydrogeology within the geoscience domain. He joined the university as a visiting professor in June 2014, transitioned to full-time faculty in January 2018, was appointed Eminent Scholar in Hydrology in 2019, and served as Executive-in-Residence from 2022 until his retirement in January 2024. Prior to FGCU, Missimer was Visiting Professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia from 2011 to 2014. His academic background includes a B.A. in Geology from Franklin & Marshall College in 1972, an M.S. in Geology from Florida State University in 1973, and a Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in 1997. Early in his career, he worked as a Hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey from 1973 to 1975 and as a Research Associate at the University of Miami from 1975 to 1976.

Missimer's extensive professional experience encompasses over 45 years in hydrogeology, including founding and leading consulting firms such as Missimer Hydrological Services, Inc. since 2011, Schlumberger Water Services in various capacities from 2007 to 2010, and earlier companies like Missimer International, Inc. His research focuses on groundwater development, water resources management, aquifer storage and recovery, managed aquifer recharge, seawater desalination, contamination remediation, sedimentary geology, and coastal geology, with projects in southern Florida, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay. He is the author or co-author of 11 books, including "Arid Lands Water Evaluation and Management" (2012), "Aquifer Storage and Recovery and Managed Aquifer Recharge: Planning, Hydrogeology, Design, and Operation" (2010), "Water Supply Development, Aquifer Storage, and Concentrate Disposal for Membrane Water Treatment Facilities" (2009, second edition), and "Intakes and Outfalls for Seawater Reverse-Osmosis Desalination Facilities: Innovations and Environmental Impacts" (2015). Missimer has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 400 technical papers, and served as Executive Editor of the journal Groundwater. His contributions include multiple awards from the Society for Technical Communication for book publications, the 2014 Editor’s Choice Award from Hydrogeology Journal, and in 2024, a $2.5 million donation with his wife to FGCU's Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering—the largest ever from a faculty member—to fund research, scholarships, and a professorship.