Marjorie Olmstead, PhD

Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel

Professor and Associate Chair of Physics
Director of Nanotechnology PhD Program
Adjunct Professor of Chemistry

Marjorie Olmstead is an accomplished academic holding the positions of Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel, Professor of Physics, and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry. With a rich educational background including a Ph.D. and M.S. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. in Physics from Swarthmore College, her research has focussed on the exploration of crystalline interface formation between dissimilar materials and the resultant ultra-thin films and on the unique properties of crystals containing intrinsic vacancies. Within the Office of Academic Personnel, she supports faculty throughout their careers from onboarding of new arrivals, through promotion and tenure, to their development as leaders. She also utilizes institutional data to inform academic policy development.

At the University of Washington, Marjorie previously served as Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs and Undergraduate Faculty Advisor in the Department of Physics, overseeing one of the largest undergraduate physics programs in the United States. She also served as Director of the interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Dual-Titled PhD Program, one of the nation’s first nanotechnology graduate programs. She has also been active on several Faculty Senate committees and councils. Prior to joining the University of Washington, Prof. Olmstead was on the physics faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the research staff at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Marjorie’s contributions to physics have been recognized with prestigious awards such as the American Physical Society Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award, the American Vacuum Society Peter Mark Memorial Award, a Humboldt Foundation Research Award, and a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award; she has also been privileged to receive the student-selected departmental teaching award on three occasions.