Two NASA engineers establish the Professor Thomas Olson Scholarship to honor the Marshall professor who helped shape their lives.
In 1967, two Marshall University engineering graduates left Huntington to embark on careers that would ultimately find both of them working at NASA. It was a time of wonder, a race for space where astronauts reached for the stars and landed on the moon. In the midst of this historic and exciting period, two Sons of Marshall were there to witness it all. And even while their careers were being launched to lofty professional heights, the two men never forgot where it all started.
NASA aerospace engineers Gary Ray and Bob Lang recently returned to their alma mater to establish the Professor Thomas Olson Scholarship Endowment for Engineering. Ray said he and Lang remember many amazing professors from their time at Marshall, but wanted to honor Olson for not only what he taught them about engineering, but also his lessons on life.
“Tom was that guy who cared, I mean really cared,” Ray said. “He’s still that way, even today. He always kept a log with everyone’s name and where they work. He took a bunch of kids coming out of high school and sent us out into the workforce as young men ready to succeed.”
Obviously, the education Ray and Lang received at Marshall was top-notch, because they both landed jobs at NASA soon after graduation. But the pair said it was the little things between classes that mattered the most.
Ray said he remembers feeling confident both in his knowledge and in himself when interviewing and competing with engineering grads from Auburn, Purdue and other larger schools — all thanks to being nurtured by a professor who truly cared about his students.
Today, Ray and Lang are helping to preserve Olson’s legacy through the establishment of the namesake scholarship. Considering Olson is a man who spent his entire career passing up opportunities of his own to stay in teaching and foster the growth of future generations of engineers, it may not be surprising that his response to all the attention was short and sweet.
“I thought it was very nice that they did this,” Olson said. “Those two were very successful in their careers and I suppose I may have been a factor.”
Olson dedicated nearly 35 years to Marshall. Initially, he only intended to teach a year because he thought it would look good on his resume. Then that year turned into another, and another, until more than three decades had passed. Thirty-plus years he wouldn’t trade for anything.
“I had a couple other jobs through the years, but I got the bug early on and couldn’t leave,” Olson said. “I really appreciated the opportunity to teach. I still miss it. When Labor Day rolls around, I still get that feeling I should be back at Marshall. But I can’t, of course — I’m 91 years old. I would not have traded it for any career in the world.”
Both Ray and Lang came from humble beginnings. They had to work long hours outside of the classroom just to afford their tuition. It was professors like Olson who made their dreams of becoming engineers a reality.
It was Ray who came up with the idea of a scholarship to honor their favorite professor. It came to him when he and Lang returned to Marshall for the dedication of the state-of-the-art Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex in 2015. Ray said he remembers talking with Olson, and remembers how enthused he was with the advances in the engineering program. It was then Ray knew he had to do something to honor the man who gave so much of himself to his school and students. When approached by Ray with the idea, Lang said he didn’t even have to think about it.
“It took me seven years to get a four-year degree, because I had to work all the time to pay for it,” Lang said. “So, to be able to be a part of this scholarship that’s going to help future generations of engineers pay for their education so they can focus on their studies, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
Olson has stayed in touch with both of his former students over the years, and knowing a couple of NASA engineers has come with some perks. Olson remembers fondly the time they invited him to see a space shuttle launch live and in person at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“I tell you, that was great,” Olson said. “I was sitting in the area where the VIPs were, not that I’m a VIP, but that’s what Gary did for me. When the shuttle took off you could feel the vibrations in your chest.”
While Ray and Lang both look forward to this scholarship providing opportunities to future engineers, they also take pride in the creation of something that keeps Professor Thomas Olson’s name associated with Marshall engineering for years to come.
“I really can’t say anything more about this amazing man,” Ray said. “We went off and became aerospace engineers for NASA — and Tom could have done that as well. He could have said ‘I’m going to quit teaching. I’m going to be a part of the space program and put a man on the moon,’ but he didn’t. He chose to dedicate his life to Marshall University and its students, and I feel so thankful that we are able to continue helping students in his name.”
Anyone interested in contributing to the Professor Thomas Olson Scholarship Endowment for Engineering can contact the Marshall University Foundation at 304-696-3512. 
Shane Arrington is a freelance writer living in South Point, Ohio.
Photos (from top, and left to right):
Thomas Olson (left), former professor of engineering at Marshall University, receives a framed copy of the agreement for the scholarship endowment bearing his name from Lance west, vice president for development at the Marshall University Foundation Inc.
Gary Ray, around 1977, stands next to a scale model that represents Launch Complex (Pads) 39 A and B used to launch the Space Shuttles. He was the lead project engineer for both Pads, and responsible for the design, construction and activation functions.
Gary Ray receives the National Space Club Florida Committee 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award on Sept. 13, 2016.
Bob Lang (center) sits at a NASA control board during the countdown for the Apollo 11 flight on July 16, 1969. Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. Four days later on July 20, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to step onto any planetary body besides Earth.
Bob Lang inspects a piece of hardware on Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery flew 39 times from 1984 through 2011, more missions than any of its sister ships, spending a total of 365 days in space.