March 9, 2005
Olson receives MSU honor
CHS graduate earns teaching award for his achievements
By
Herald staff writer
When Brian Olson attended his 10th Traverse City Central High School class reunion in 2003, his fellow classmates awarded him a certificate for "being in school the longest." With more than an decade of higher learning under his belt, Olson has also earned recognition from professors and students alike.
His most recent accomplishment, earning the Excellence in Teaching Citation from Michigan State University, recognized his distinguished achievement in teaching and classroom responsibilities, as well as overall scholarly promise.
Olson, who will earn his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MSU in December, was one of six teaching assistants out of 7000 graduate students at the university to earn the citation which carries a $1,000 stipend. After being nominated by his department, Olson was evaluated for his curriculum vita, teaching evaluation forms and letters of recommendation from faculty, colleagues and former or current students.
"He is without a doubt one of the best instructors I have ever had," claimed a former student in a classroom evaluation quoted in the MSU News Bulletin, a publication for faculty members.
Teaching classes in mechanical vibrations, control systems, mechanical engineering analysis and dynamics, Olson is known to challenge students is some very difficult classes and encourage their learning.
"He genuinely cares about his students, and it shows," commented another former student.
Olson plans to continue challenging students and himself after earning his Ph.D. later this year.
"It is very likely that I will remain in academia. I am very passionate about teaching and research," Olson said.
Olson, the son of Robert and Vivian Olson of Traverse City, earned a bachelor and master of science degrees in mechanical engineering from MSU before beginning his doctoral dissertation on "Order-Tuned Vibration Absorbers for Systems with Cyclic Symmetry with Applications to Turbomachinery."
He also studied at the University of Surrey in Guilford, England and Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary. Olson spent time as a visiting scholar in the department of theoretical and applied mechanics at Budapest University along with his wife Julie, also a graduate of Central High School. In 2004 he presented a technical paper on his master and Ph.D. research at the ninth mini-conference on Vehicle System Dynamics, Identification and Anomalies in Budapest.