Alsaati is concerned with environmental and water resources planning and management. His research stresses modeling water resources systems, nonconventional treatment technologies and environmental assessment for sustainable development of water infrastructures. His recent interests center on impacts of extreme climate events on urban water supply and management in arid regions. Alsaati is the winner of Al-Madinah Philanthropic Award in 2005 for his research work on the development of membrane technology for wastewater treatment and reuse applications. He completed his undergraduate education in civil engineering at King Saud University and his graduate studies for the M.S. and PhD. at Stanford University and the University of Michigan in water resources and environmental engineering. He is a certified consulting engineer. Alsaati is the Head of the recently established Consulting Studies Unit at King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST). He served as a deputy director for the Joint Centers of Excellence Program at KACST and the deputy co-director of the Center of Complex Engineering Systems at KACST and MIT.