[2] Olav Solgaard completed a B. S. Electrical Engineering, from the Norwegian Institute of Technology, Norway in 1981.
He completed degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1987 (MS) and 1992 (PhD).
[citation needed] Prior to joining Stanford’s Department of Electrical Engineering in 1999,[3] Olav was a faculty member at the University of California, Davis.
His work at UC Davis led to the invention of the multi-wavelength, fiber-optical switch.
[4] Solgaard's research is in the areas of semiconductor fabrication techniques; specifically, microfabrication and integration of optical devices and systems.