Lars Olson holds a PhD in Economics from Cornell University and is currently Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AREC) at the University of Maryland. Dr. Olson’s research focuses on the allocation of natural and environmental resources over time and under uncertainty, with a current emphasis on the management of renewable resources and invasive species. Olson, who is passionate about undergraduate education, has taught courses on agricultural, environmental and natural resource economics including AREC241, an I-Series course on Environment, Economics and Policy. He was the founding Director of the Global Poverty Minor and he is the founding faculty leader of Sustainability Analytics in the First-year Innovation and Research Experience (FIRE) program.