Dr. Tim Olson – NESC Academy Biography

Dr. Tim Olson has been a faculty member at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana since 1995, where he teaches physics, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, and information technology. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in physics from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in physics from Montana State University. His research interests include planetary science, relativistic astrophysics, and scientific instrumentation development.

Dr. Olson is a member of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Science Team, a co-investigator for the Mast Camera (Mastcam), Mars Hand Lens Imager, and Mars Descent Imager cameras on the Mars Science Laboratory rover, and a Payload Uplink Lead for Mars surface operations of the Mastcams. He is the principal investigator for BisonSat, a small satellite that has operated in Earth orbit since August 2015, and was designed and built by Salish Kootenai College students and faculty.

Last updated February 23, 2017