Cento Amici, a community based organization supporting higher education in New Jersey, honored Dr. Greg Olsen at its annual dinner held on October 10th. Dr. Olsen who is one of New Jersey’s most successful entrepreneurs captured the attention of the nation in 2005 when he became the third private citizen to travel into space. Using the resources from his successful ventures, Dr. Olsen paid to be on board the launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket which orbited the earth for ten days with two Russian cosmonauts.
Following Dr. Olsen’s safe return he became an active spokesman for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum. By speaking to young people about his successes, he sought to inspire their interest in STEM areas that potentially would lead to a future career.
In 1992 Dr. Olsen founded Sensors Unlimited which was sold for $600 million in 2000. Following other entrepreneurial endeavors, he founded GHO Ventures, a private investment firm based in Princeton, New Jersey which invests in a range of startups and early stage growth companies.
