Professor Emeritus of Computer and Information Science
1937-2021
Passed by the IUPUI Faculty Council at their meeting on December 7, 2021.
Andrew M. Olson, Professor Emeritus of Computer and Information Science (CIS), passed away on October 29, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. Although last few years of his life were spent in valiantly fighting a chronic illness, he never gave up his warm smile and his passion for teaching and mentoring, good food, good music, and a commitment to his family and humanity at-large. The CIS Department is very saddened by Andrew’s death and he surely will be missed by his colleagues in the department and the central Indiana community.
Andrew grew up in Wyoming and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Wyoming. He continued his interest in Mathematics and earned a graduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After graduation, he joined General Electric Company and was involved in the Apollo Project that put men on the Moon. He returned to graduate school after a few years and earned his D.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 1969.
Andrew and his wife, Gloria, moved to Santiago, Chile, and they both taught at the University of Chile. Due to the political instability, after 4 years, they moved back to US and Andrew taught, as a Visiting Faculty Member, at the Washington State University (WSU). After a brief stint at WSU, Andrew joined the Mathematics Department at the University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, – he taught there for more than 10 years and also served as the Chairman of that department. The family moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and Andrew joined as a faculty member in the CIS Department at IUPUI.
Andrew contributed significantly to the growth and development of the CIS Department. He taught courses in many different areas of Computer Science – primarily, he was responsible for teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in software engineering, systems programming, and human-computer interactions. His students appreciated his passion for meticulousness, and genuine interest in nurturing the next generation of Computer Scientists. He also conducted research in software engineering including working on the UniFrame project – a multi-university, multi-million, dollar effort supported by the US Office of Naval Research. His research has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed scientific publications and many citations. Andrew also served as the Chairman of the CIS Department in late 1980’s. He retired from IUPUI in mid-2000s, but continued to pursue his teaching and research interests as an Emeritus Faculty.
In addition to IUPUI, Andrew belonged to the Center for Inquiry (CFI), a secular humanist group, where he organized Science Seminars inviting professors from different fields. With his wife, he founded an English class serving foreign university students and researchers for more than 10 years. Andrew had varied interests including the outdoors, geology, and music. However, most important to him was mentoring students, helping them grow and develop. From his parents, he inherited a strong moral sense and work ethic, an open mind to other cultures, and a keen sense of social justice. He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter, and a granddaughter. Also, he is survived by his sister, a brother, and nephew, in addition to an extended family of close cousins. He rests at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. A Memorial Service is planned for December 4, 2021, at 2:00 PM in Crown Hill Funeral Home, Indianapolis, IN. Dr. Olson is fondly remembered by his colleagues, friends, and students as a warm, pleasant, hardworking, and detail-oriented Computer Scientist and a wonderful person.
The Department of Computer and Information Science at IUPUI was fortunate to have Prof. Olson in its ranks and he will be missed by the IUPUI community at large. To commemorate his legacy as a colleague, as a Computer Scientist, and as an educator, the Department plans to establish the Andrew Olson Scholarship Fund in near future.
Submitted Respectfully, on behalf of the CIS Department and the School of Science at IUPUI, By:
Dr. Rajeev R. Raje
Dr. Shiaofen Fang
Dr. Mihran Tuceryan