Donald W. Olson is a Regents' Professor and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics at Texas State University. He received his B.S. (Physics) from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. (Physics) from the University of California at Berkeley, then went on to conduct post-doctoral research at Cornell University and the University of Texas at Austin.

At Texas State University, Olson taught an Honors College course linking science and the humanities, and the Texas State group has published more than 60 articles using astronomy to solve mysteries in art, history, and literature. In 2014 the American Association of Physics Teachers honored Olson with the Paul Klopsteg Award, which recognizes outstanding communication of the excitement of contemporary physics and astronomy to the general public. In 2015 Olson was named a Regents' Professor, the highest honor of the Texas State University system. His three previous Springer/Praxis books are Celestial Sleuth (2014), Further Adventures of the Celestial Sleuth (2018), and Investigating Art, History, and Literature with Astronomy (2022).