His TED talk, viewed over 2.5 million times, is as much about inventing inventors as it is about inventing technology.

In 2012 he was named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Published in 2022, the paper titled Fast-charging aluminium–chalcogen batteries resistant to dendritic shorting led to the development of the Avanti battery.

Donald Sadoway's impact on engineering education has extended well beyond the lecture hall. Online videos of his lectures in general chemistry hosted by MIT OpenCourseWare, have been viewed thousands of times from around the globe. Bill Gates has been quoted "Don Sadoway, MIT--best chemistry lectures everywhere. Unbelievable."

In 2012 he joined Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report for a hilarious discussion about the Liquid Metal Battery. "It looks like a grilled cheese sandwich."

Donald Sadoway was named winner of the European Inventor Award 2022 in the Non-EPO countries category for the Liquid Metal Battery. The European Inventor Award pays tribute to inventors who transform their ideas into solutions that address some of the greatest challenges of our time.