Draft:Nels Andrew Olson

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Nels Andrew Olson
Nels A. Olson
EducationPh.D., Analytical Chemistry, University of Washington, BA. Biochemistry, Reed College
Alma materUniversity of Washington
Scientific career
Fieldschemistry
InstitutionsMolecular Probes Inc.; University of Washington; Royal Institute of Technology; Library of Congress; Molecular Dynamics; Illumina Inc.; Department of Homeland Security; Johns Hopkins University; Defense Threat Reduction Agency; the Boeing Company
Thesis "Development of an analyzer for surface active species in flow injection and liquid chromatography environments".  (1997)
Doctoral advisorRobert E. Synovec

Nels A. Olson, American chemist, received a BA in biochemistry from Reed College in 1989, and in 1997, a Ph.D from the University of Washington in Analytical and Synthetic Organic Chemistry.[1] After completing his education, Olson was a Fulbright Fellow at the Institute for Surface Chemistry in Stockholm, Sweden where he also lectured at the Royal Institute of Technology.[1][2]

Biotech Industry[edit]

Upon his return from Sweden in 1999, Olson spent a number of years working in biotechnology instrumentation and reagents for several companies in California including Molecular Dynamics where he worked on the Human Genome Project.[2] After the acquisition of Molecular Dynamics in 1998 by Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, [3][4] Olson, along with the executive team, moved to Illumina Inc. where he was associate director for systems analysis and integration.[5] There he acquired expertise in root-cause failure analysis which would inform much of his later work at Boeing.

Government Service[edit]

Moving to the East coast, Olson served as Program Manager and Principal Investigator at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) working on chemical and biological threat detection and mitigation.[1][6][7] On November 3, 2009, while working for DHS, Olson gave the keynote address at a conference in Boston on detection and identification of pathogens, biological threats and infectious diseases.[8] This was the work that occupied him at the DTRA as well, where he served as senior analyst and advisor to the Biological Detection and Diagnostics Division.[9]

On April 5, 2006, Olson was named chief of the Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD) in the Preservation Directorate of the Library of Congress (LOC). While at LOC, Olson's remit included "expanding the lab's expertise and equipment" and "developing a robust science fellowship program."[5]

Library of Congress team responsible for creating the hermetically sealed encasement for the Waldseemüller Map

One of the large engineering projects that Olson supported for LOC was the building of the largest hermetically sealed encasement ever made for a document. This project, led by Elmer Eusman (third from left) and Olson (second from left) in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), built the housing for the 1507 Waldseemüller map.[10] This map, the Universalis Cosmographiae, was based on data provided to Waldseemüller by Amerigo Vespucci, and was the origin of the modern name of the continents America.

Boeing Company[edit]

Olson made the move back to the West coast starting a new career in aerospace at the Boeing company. In 2013 a number of problems had emerged with the use of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in aircraft[11]. Olson's investigations in root-cause failure analysis and corrective actions resulted in patents awarded to Boeing for methods in diagnosis and mitigation of these battery problems and the re-certification of the Boeing 787 aircraft.[12]

During the height of the pandemic, Boeing instituted the Confident Travel Initiative (CTI) on May 14, 2020[13] to investigate the problems of virus transmission in aircraft cabins. Olson's work in this area was a continuation of the threat identification work he had done at DHS. There he had identified technologies with promise, notably the work of David Silcott at "S3i"., and in August 2020, Olson's Boeing team collaborated with S3i and others on the biological aerosol detection project undertaken under the aegis of the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).[14] Olson was also the senior author on several of the peer-reviewed papers written on this subject during the pandemic.[15]

While at Boeing, Olson has been one of the principal architects of a number of initiatives. These have included the development and implementation of environmental testing; continuous variable measures for the analysis of corrosion;[16] the capability to test, in real-time, fire suppressants in a full-scale aircraft cargo mockup; and finally, the real time analysis of engine emissions while utilizing synthetic biofuels. The emissions projects have been focused on the challenges for operational mitigation of contrails sponsored by Dr. Steven Baughcum and the Boeing Company.[17]

Selected Publications[edit]

Patents[edit]

  • US 9614209B2, Olson N.A., et al., "Aircraft Including Mitigation System for Rechargeable Batteries", published 2017-04-04 
  • US 9658146B2, Olson N.A. et. al., "Analysis of Rechargeable Batteries", published 2017-05-23 
  • US 2007003941A1, Olson, N., Kermani, B.G., Ren, H., Kotseroglou, T., "Systems and Methods for Automated Quality Control of Polymer Synthesis", published September 21, 2010 
  • US 7776531B1, Olson, N., Barnard, S., Black, F., "Compositions and Methods for Stabilizing Surface Bound Probes", published August 17, 2010 
  • US 2005161329A1, Olson, N., Hutterer, K., Jovanovich, S., Roach, D., "Multiplexed Capillary Electrophoresis Systems", published 2005-07-28 
  • US 2005161329A1, Haugland, R. P., Zhang, Y.Z., Sabnis, R., Olson, N.A., Naleway, J.J., "Fluorescent haloalkyl derivatives of reporter molecules well retained in cells", published 1994-11-08 
  • US 5316906A, Haugland, R.P., Zhang, Y.Z., Yue, S.T., Terpetschnig, E., Olson, N.A., Naleway, J.J., Larison, K.D., Huang, Z., "Enzymatic Analysis Using Substrates That Yield Fluorescent Precipitates", published May 31, 1994 
  • US 5576424A, Mao F., Haugland, R.P., Zhang, Y.Z., Sabnis, R., Olson, N.A., Naleway, J.J., Haugland, R.P., "Haloalkyl Derivatives of Reporter Molecules used to Analyze Metabolic Activity in Cells", published 1996-11-19 
  1. ^ a b c "2019 conference bio for The Ninth Triennial International Fire & Cabin Safety Research" (PDF). Retrieved Jan 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Frick, Walter (April 16, 2006). "New library chief to preserve the past". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. ^ "Amersham Pharmacia acquires Molecular Dynamics for $256mm". Jul 13, 1999. Retrieved Jan 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Molecular Dynamics Inc. company profile". Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  5. ^ a b "Recent Staff Appointments at the Library". Library of Congress Information Bulletin. 65 (5). May 2006. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  6. ^ See the acknowledgements to the paper described here: Kinahan, Sean Michael (March 1, 2015). "The Effects of Atmospheric Aging on Microbial Signatures". Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  7. ^ "Seed Money Helps Grow Development" (PDF). JSTO in the News. 2 (11).
  8. ^ "More than 100 Leading Organizations from Around the World to Convene in Washington, DC for Detection Technologies 2009" (Press release). Newswire. Nov 3, 2009.
  9. ^ "The Illumina Example: DTRA as a Catalyst for Biotech Growth". Global Biodefense. Dec 11, 2012.
  10. ^ Donna Urschel (June 2007). "Waldseemüller: Building a Case". Library of Congress Information Bulletin. 66 (6). Retrieved Oct 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "Boeing 787 Battery Was a Concern Before Failure". The New York Times. Jan 29, 2013. Retrieved Jan 16, 2024.
  12. ^ US 9614209B2, Olson N.A., et al., "Aircraft Including Mitigation System for Rechargeable Batteries", published 2017-04-04  US 9658146B2, Olson N.A. et. al., "Analysis of Rechargeable Batteries", published 2017-05-23 
  13. ^ "Boeing institutes the Confident Travel Initiative" (Press release). May 14, 2020.
  14. ^ "TRANSCOM/AMC Commercial Aircraft Cabin Aerosol Dispersion Tests" (PDF). August 2020.
  15. ^ The substance of the following papers was presented at the "Tenth Triennial International Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference on October 17-20, 2022 in Atlantic City". by Angela Davis, Stephen Trent, and Casey Brantner.
  16. ^ Badaeva, Ekaterina; Seebergh, Jill; Olson, Nels Andrew; Kirchner, James (7–10 May 2018). New Accelerated Corrosion Test Methods for Atmospheric Corrosion on Aluminum Aircraft (PDF). AEROMAT 2018. Orlando, Florida, USA.
  17. ^ "Challenges for operational mitigation of contrails" (PDF). September 7, 2022.
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