The nation's richest oilman is coming to UND on Friday, visiting with area leaders and lawmakers and speaking to students, said the university.
Harold Hamm is the founder and chief executive of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, one of the largest privately-owned oil and gas exploration and production companies in the United States.
He's also chairman of Hiland Partners, a publicly-owned natural-gas processing and gathering company.
The youngest of 13 children of sharecroppers, Hamm is now listed by Forbes as the richest U.S. oilman and 136th among the world's billionaires.
UND President Robert Kelley said Hamm is interested in the university because of its growing emphasis on energy and environmental research, including, for example, the new bachelor's in petroleum ngineering degree and Master of Science in Energy Engineering.
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He also cited the new Petroleum Research, Education and Entrepreneurship Center at the School of Engineering and Mines.
More recently, the state created the Institute for Energy Studies at UND.
Hamm is scheduled to lunch with area leaders at UND's Energy and Environmental Research Center, then tour the engineering school and speak with students 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Gamble Hall Room 7.
