Olmstead Establishes Endowed Scholarship at UDM

Donation is part of his winnings from "Millionaire"

Impact, Summer 2002 issue

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Kevin Olmstead, senior project engineer at Tetra Tech MPS and adjunct instructor at UDM, has created an endowed scholarship in the College of Engineering & Science with a gift of $25,000, part of his winnings from his participation on a national game show.

The endowed scholarship at UDM will be granted annually to a student in Environmental or Civil Engineering.

In April 2001, Olmstead won the largest prize ever on a game show, taking home $2.18 million on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." (Find out more about the show at the show's web site).

While the program's top prize is usually $1 million, Olmstead was the beneficiary of the "bonus jackpot," which increased the top prize by $10,000 for every show that went by without a jackpot winner. When Olmstead won, there had been 118 shows without a winner.

The final question Olmstead answered? (Scroll down to see the answer):

Who is credited with inventing the first mass-produced helicopter?
A. Igor Sikorsky
B. Edward Sperry
C. Ferdinand von Zepplin
D. Godfried Daimler

The $2.18 million response:
A. Igor Sikorsky; "final answer."