Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Donald P. Olander (June 24, 1940-) was born in Boulder, Colorado. He is married to Dr. Claire Roberta Mayer Olander, a retired college professor. They have three children. Olander received his B.S. degree in chemistry in 1964 from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas. He received both his M.Sc. degree (1966) and his Ph.D. degree in chemistry (1970) from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. In September 1969, Dr. Olander began his career at Appalachian State University. He received tenure in September 1973 and subsequently was promoted to associate professor (1974) and to full professor (1979). During his career at Appalachian State, Dr. Olander was involved in both on-campus and off-campus service activities. He was a member of the University Registration and Calendar Committee, the Traffic Management and Safety Committee, the Academic Policies and Procedure Committee, the Advisory Committee for the B.S. Degrees in physics, the Advisory Committee of the Office of Wilderness Experience, and the Search Committee for the chair of the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Olander also acted as department liaison with the library, and he was a member of the American Chemical Society and the Society of Sigma Xi. Dr. Olander was appointed as a research chemist with the water resource division of the United States Geological Survey (1980-1981). The major portion of his research activities took place through his involvement as a mentor of students engaged in independent-study and undergraduate-research projects. Olander directed projects which utilized ion selective electrodes, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, microwave digestion techniques, pipette/gas purging, and charcoal strip techniques (techniques used in analyzing fire debris). Three of his students gave poster presentations at the Celebration of Undergraduate Students' Achievements in Research and other Creative Activity. Dr. Olander retired in December 2001 and was awarded emeritus status by the Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Claire, reside in Boone, North Carolina. Sources: Appalachian State University files. -Patti Levine-Brown
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