U.Va.
Engineering School alumni Gregory H. Olsen (MSE '71) will
be a 'private researcher' on a space flight set for April
2005. He will be the world's first self-financed scientist-astronaut.
Olsen is the founder and chief executive officer of the
New Jersey-based Sensors Unlimited. He launched Sensors
Unlimited in 1991 and sold it in 2000 for $700 million.
He and others bought it back in 2002. The company specializes
in producing imaging arrays used in short-wave and near-infrared
cameras. Olsen's intention during the flight is to conduct
experiments using his company's miniaturized infrared imager
to observe the Earth. He also plans to test his theory that
it is possible to make larger and more useful crystals up
in space.
Olsen hopes to use his flight experience to encourage young
people, particularly inner-city youth, to pursue careers
in science and education. The son of an electrician, Olsen
grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and put himself through school
working as an electrician's helper. He later went on to
earn a doctorate in materials science, studying under Professor
William Jesser. In 2002 he provided the lead gift for construction
of Wilsdorf Hall, a 99,000 gross-square-foot, five-story
structure that will link the University's materials science
and chemical engineering buildings. He chose to have it
named after Professor Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf and her late
husband Professor Heinz Wilsdorf, who was the first chair
of the Engineering School Department of Materials Science.
The space flight was arranged through the Virginia-based
Space Adventures, Ltd, owned by Engineering School graduate
Eric Anderson (Aero. '97). In preparation for the flight,
Olsen will train for six months at Russia's Star City Cosmonaut
Complex, where he will learn the Russian language and procedures
for the craft and space station. Before the April flight,
he will also spend time training at NASA Johnson Space Center.
