Automatically Re-assign a Defect to the Owner when Status is set to "Resolved".

At the time the Status of a Defect is set to "Resolved", I'd like to have the capability (via an Escalation rule or Workflow) to reset the value of the "Assigned To" field back to the Owner of the Defect.  Right now this is a manual process which we often get complaints about.  Users ask why the system can't populate the "Assigned To" field programmatically.   I could accomplish this via the Escalation Rule or Workflow if the value of the Defect Owner was included in the list which unfortunately it isn't.