Erik Olsen
As seen in:
The Seattle Times,
Outside Magazine,
Tampa Bay Times,
Anchorage Daily News,
Nextgov/FCW,
Government Executive,
Honolulu Star-Advertiser,
Newsshooter
Covers:
metro, extreme sports, science, oceans, environment
Staff Sr. Video Journalist at the New York Times. Native Californian living in Brooklyn.
Articles by Erik Olsen
An effective scorecard for political accountability | Opinion
Scorecards are typically a tool for measuring progress toward a particular goal. At Common Ground Committee (CGC) our goal is to reduce polarization. One of the ways to do that is to help increase the frequency of bipartisanship exhibited within our political leadership. Doing so creates overall favorable outcomes for our country and our democracy. We need to calm the waters if we are going to move forward to address the serious problems facing our nation.
Google’s Larry Page Thinks We’ll Soon Be Soaring Over Traffic in These Cute Flying Cars He’s Building
On a recent, brutally hot morning on the edge of a lake just outside Las Vegas, tech entrepreneur Carter Reum was strapped into his vehicle and ready to lift off into the future. Except he didn’t. Reum was sitting inside the narrow cockpit of the Flyer, a ten-propeller flying vehicle designed and built by Kitty Hawk, a company started by Google’s Larry Page. It was to be Reum’s inaugural flight in the vehicle after becoming the first person to buy one. (Kitty Hawk would not disclose the price).
These Magnetic Robots Might Someday Crawl Around Inside You
Engineers at MIT have developed tiny magnetic robots that could one day be used as biomedical devices inside humans. The robots, which are about the size of a quarter coin, are made of a novel type of 3D-printer ink, infused with tiny magnetic particles arranged in such a way that when a magnet is passed beneath them, they constrict in a specially-designed pattern.
14 Hours at the World’s Toughest Spectator Race
Grayling, Michigan, is a small dot on some maps. The quaint tourist town is best known for its fly-fishing history and for being the epicenter of "up north" in the Midwest. Its other claim to faim: hosting a popular event that claims to be "the world's toughest spectator race." The Au Sable River Canoe Marathon wrapped its 69th running the weekend of July 30. At 120 miles, it is the longest nonstop canoe marathon in the United States.
Learning to Fly a Balloon to Fly a Drone
Matt Gerard is floating high in the sky, learning to fly a hot air ballon, even though he will probably never do so again. “I have no plans to fly a hot air balloon again any time in the near future,” he says. Welcome to the weird world of the FAA’s commercial drone regulations. For the last five or so years, since the advent of the consumer drone market, it has been illegal under FAA regulations to fly a drone for commercial purposes without a pilot’s certificate.
The American Bison is Officially Declared a National Icon
\The American bison will soon join the bald eagle, the rose and the oak tree on the list of national “things” when the bearded, one-ton beast is officially named the national mammal. On April 27, the US Congress approved the National Bison Legacy Act, which is expected to be signed into law by president Barack Obama. It will recognize the American bison as the national mammal of the United States.
Using a Drone, NOAA Scientists Filmed a Humpback Doing a Headstand
Using the one of the newest tools in their arsenal, a quadcopter drone, scientists with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary filmed rare behavior of humpback whales off the coast of Maui. Hovering about 40 feet over a female humpback and her calf, the drone, A Phantom 2, filmed the mother whale engaging in so-called tail-sailing behavior, in which she essentially does a headstand, flapping her tail in the air, as you can see in the video above.
Alaska Dispatch News
EUREKA OIL PLATFORM OFF CALIFORNIA COAST — Eight miles off the coast of Long Beach, California, the oil rig Eureka, which has stood here for 40 years, is a study in contrasts.
Drone Over California - part 2
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Drone racing: How do you film a 70mph, dinnerplate-sized UAV? Guest post by the NYT’s Erik Olsen
Drones are often in the news for the wrong reasons, so it’s nice to see the occasional piece that goes a little deeper and explores the culture emerging around DIY aviation, as with Erik Olsen’s recent piece for the New York Times. Here’s Erik to tell the story behind the story in his own words… A few months ago, I saw a video online featuring the jaw-dropping aerial acrobatics of a drone pilot nicknamed Charpu.
Drone race planned in Hawaii as sport takes off
EAGLE ROCK, Calif. >> On a cool October night, after the stores in this suburban shopping mall closed, six young drone racers gathered in a subterranean parking garage here to hone their aviation skills. Using remote control joysticks, they navigated small X-shaped drones around pylons and beneath shopping carts, each vying for the lead.
RACING'S REMOTE FRONTIER
On a cool October night, after the stores in a suburban California shopping mall closed, six young drone racers gathered in a subterranean parking garage to hone their aviation skills. Using remote control joysticks, they navigated small X-shaped drones around pylons and beneath shopping carts, each vying for the lead. The young men all work steady jobs, but racing drones, they said, has become a consuming passion. "It's all I think about," said Richard Howarth.
Crisis creates brain drain in Greece
The country is hemorrhaging talent, as professionals in medicine, engineering and academics flee for a better economic climate and more stable employment. Greece is in the midst of the worst brain drain in modern history, experts say. “This is unprecedented in terms of the numbers of educated people that are leaving,” said Lois Labrianidis, a professor of economic geography at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Doritos and Mountain Dew
This campaign has ended and will receive all funds raised. This campaign ended on April 4, 2015
How Ready Is Your Roof?
Although falling snow can turn almost any neighborhood into a winter wonderland, commercial building owners and managers have to guard against snow causing roof leaks or, in the most severe cases, building collapse. Careful roof inspections and routine maintenance are important year-round, but become critical as temperatures drop and the potential for snow increases.
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