The largest donation in University of Virginia School of Engineering history began with a chance encounter more than half a century ago. Greg Olsen had just earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics at a New Jersey university in 1968, when he met then-UVA Engineering Associate Dean Avery Catlin at a conference. Catlin convinced Olsen to visit Charlottesville and pursue a Ph.D. in UVA's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Olsen's first footsteps on Grounds launched an extraordinary career, with two multimillion-dollar businesses, an orbit around Earth on the International Space Station and decades of support for the University he loves like family. UVA Engineering Dean Craig H. Benson announced Friday that Olsen has pledged $25 million to recruit and retain star engineering faculty, attract outstanding Ph.D. students and provide the dean of engineering and the chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering with additional funding to support strategic initiatives. The total impact of Olsen's gift will be $36.5 million when combined with $11.5 million in matching funds from UVA's Bicentennial Scholars Fund and Bicentennial Professors Fund. “As a world-class researcher himself, Greg Olsen exemplifies the power of engineering to make the world a better place,†Benson said. “With his generous, future-focused investment, Greg is ensuring that UVA Engineering's capacity to attract outstanding scholars and produce future engineering leaders is very strong for generations to come.â€