Educational Qualifications:
PhD, Geology, Stanford University, 1988

BS cum laude, Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 1983

PGE Courses:
PGE 383: Writing Technical Papers

PGE 382: Geological Concepts for Engineers

PGE 379: Applied Subsurface Geology

Research:
Dr. Olson’s technical research integrates biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental data (foraminifera), core, well-log and seismic data to examine the Earth’s stratigraphic record. Regional experience includes the Gulf of Mexico, Faeroe Basin, San Joaquin Valley (CA), New Jersey Margin and onshore Texas. Current Gulf of Mexico research is being sponsored through an industrial associates program. Education, training and outreach programs address the areas of unconventional resources and CO2 storage, with audiences ranging from state and federal regulators to the public. K–12 teacher professional development activities are focused on energy and earth science education and have received support from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. Dr. Olson’s involvement in STEM education for pre-university-aged girls highlights (1) the societal impacts of addressing energy, climate and water issues in the 21st century and (2) building confidence in middle- and high-school-aged girls.  

Awards & Honors:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Public Service Award, 2021.

Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, Chairman’s Stewardship Award: Energy Education Honorable Mention for TOPCORP Oil and Gas Inspector Training Program, 2017.

North American Micropaleontological Section, SEPM, Elected President, 1999.

Distinguished Lecturer, Ocean Drilling Program, 1998–1999.

Dallas Geological Society Public Service Award, 1995.

Highlighted Publications and Google Scholar Profile:
Wang, W., Kahlor, L. A., Moon, W-K., & Olson, H. C. (2021). Person, Place, or Thing: Individual, Community, and Risk Information Seeking. Science Communication. doi: 10.1177/1075547020986805 (January 2021).

Moon, W-K., Kahlor, L.A., Olson, H.C. (2020). Understanding Public Support for Carbon Capture and Storage Policy: The Roles of Social Capital, Stakeholder Perceptions, and Perceived Risk/Benefit of Technology. Energy Policy. 139.

Kahlor, L.A, Yang, J., Li, X., Wang, W., Olson,H., Atkinson, L. (2020). Environmental Risk (and Benefit) Information SeekingIntentions: The Case of Carbon Capture and Storage in Southeast Texas. Environmental Communication. 14(4),555-572.

Kahlor, L.A, Wang, W., Olson, H., Li, X., Markman, A. (2019). Public Perceptions and Information Seeking Intentions Related to Seismicity in Five Texas Communities. International Journal of Disaster Relief Reduction. 37, 10114, 1-9.

Kahlor, L.A., Olson, H.C., Markman, A.B., Wang, W. (2018). Avoiding Trouble: Exploring Environmental Risk Information Avoidance Intentions. Environment and Behavior, 0013916518799149, 1-32. 

Nelson, C.H., Damuth, J.E., and H.C. Olson, 2018, Late Pleistocene Bryant Canyon Turbidite System: Implications for Gulf of Mexico mini-basin petroleum systems, Interpretation, v. 6 no. 1, p. SD89-SD114.

Olson, H.C., Damuth, J.E., and Nelson, H.C., 2016, Latest Quaternary sedimentation in the northern Gulf of Mexico Intraslope Basin Province: II.  Stratigraphic analysis and relationship to glacioeustatic climate change, Interpretation, v. 4, no. 1, p. SC81-SC95.

Cunningham, R., Snedden, J., Norton, I., Olson, H.C., Whitaker, T., and J. Virdell, 2016, Upper Jurassic Tithonian-centered source mapping in the deepwater, northern Gulf of Mexico, Interpretation, v. 4, no. 1, p. SC97-SC123.

Damuth, J. E., and H. C. Olson, 2015, Latest Quaternary sedimentation in the northern Gulf of Mexico Intraslope Basin Province: I. Sediment facies and depositional processes, Geosphere, 11, 1689-1718.

Olson, H.C., J.W. Snedden and R. Cunningham, 2015, Development and application of a robust chronostratigraphic framework in Gulf of Mexico Mesozoic exploration, Interpretation, v. 3, no. 2, p. SN39-SN58.

Ellins K.K., Snow E., Olson H.C., Stocks E., and Olson J., 2013, The TeXas Earth and Space Science (TXESS) Revolution: A Model for the Delivery of Earth Science Professional Development to Minority-Serving Teachers, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 61, no. 2, pp. 187-201.

Olson, Hilary C., and John E. Damuth, 2009, Character, Distribution and Timing of Latest Quaternary Mass-Transport Deposits in Texas-Louisiana Intraslope Basins Based on High-Resolution (3.5 kHz) Seismic Facies and Piston Cores, in D. Mosher et al., eds., Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences, Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, Volume 28, Springer Science+Business Media, p. 607-617.    

Olson, H.C., and P.R. Thompson, 2005, Sequence biostratigraphy with examples from the Plio-Pleistocene and Quaternary, in Koutsoukos, E. A. M., ed., Applied Stratigraphy, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, p. 229-245.

Goff, J. A., J. A. Austin, S. Gulick, S. Nordfjord, B. Christensen, C. Sommerfield, H. Olson, and C. Alexander, 2005, Recent and modern marine erosion on the New Jersey outer shelf, Marine Geology, 216, 275-296. 

Olson, H.C., and C. Smart, 2004, Pleistocene climatic history reflected in planktonic foraminifera from ODP Site 1073 (Leg 174A), New Jersey margin, NW Atlantic Ocean, Marine Micropaleontology v. 51, p. 213-218.

Olson, H. C., A. Gary, and G. Jones, 2003, Similarity curves as indicators of stratigraphic discontinuities, in Micropaleontological Proxies for Sea-Level Changes and Stratigraphic Discontinuities, edited by H. C. Olson and R. M. Leckie, SEPM Special Publication 75, p. 89-96.