Bio
Bio
Dr. Nils Olsen is a Program Director and full-time faculty member in GW's Organizational Sciences Program. He approaches his research and teaching from a behavioral economics perspective; and is most focused on: (a) decision-making in high-intensity contexts (e.g., medical, athletic, financial); and (b) decision-making in human-AI interactions. Dr. Olsen is also a member of GW's Trustworthy AI Initiative, https://trustworthyai.gwu.edu/
Dr. Olsen regularly collaborates with medical professionals to explore decision-making among patients and physicians and has publications appearing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Social Cognition, Academic Emergency Medicine, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, and Brain Research Bulletin.
Olsen's applied experience includes work with the Global Executive MBA Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Duke Corporate Education, Inc., National Institute of Mental Health, the American Bar Foundation, and the Olympic Games. His presentations include events at JP Morgan Chase, the Association for Psychological Science, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, National Geographic Channel, and the National Football League (NFL).
Dr. Olsen has been honored with The George Washington University’s (Columbian College of Arts & Sciences) Program Director of the Year Award (2013), nominated for the Honey Nashman Spark a Life Award (2015), and nominated for the GW Student-Athletes' Professor of the Year Award (Finalist in 2017 & Nominee in 2018, 2019).
As a tribute to his commitment to research, Dr. Olsen has successfully mentored Organizational Sciences majors to secure either the #1 or #2 spots (or both) in GW's Research Showcase for 9 years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 (2020 – pandemic), 2021, 2022, and 2023. His goal is to help students strive towards excellence in thinking, innovation and creativity.
Education
Ph.D., University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Social Psychology
Game Theory, Decision-Making & Statistics
B.S., University of Wisconsin - Madison, Psychology
Cognitive-Social Psychology
Athletic
Prince National Tennis All-America
Decision Making Research
Dr. Nils Olsen maintains a consistent program of research, looking at how deicisons are made in high-intensity contexts.