Aerospace engineer, inventor and entrepreneur
Dr. Johnson attended Tuskegee University, obtaining a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering. He also holds an honorary Ph.D. in Science from Tuskegee University. He then worked for the U.S. Air Force, and then joined NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory in 1979.
- At NASA, Dr. Johnson developing the nuclear power source for the Galileo mission to Jupiter, several weapons related projects, as well as an engineer on the Mariner Mark ll Spacecraft series for Comet Rendezvous and Saturn Orbiter Probe missions.
- Johnson founded his own company, Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc. In 1991. Currently, he has two technology-development companies: Excellatron Solid State, LLC and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS).
- Johnson is the inventor of “Super Soaker” water gun in 1990, which has been among the world’s bestselling toys ever since. He also owns a patent that later led to Nerf gun toy.
- he teamed up with scientists from Tulane University and Tuskegee University to develop a method of transforming heat into electricity with the goal of making green energy more affordable.
- Belongs to a “part of a small group of African-American inventors whose work accounts for 6 percent of all U.S. patent applications.”
- Received the Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics for the invention of the JTEC.
Relevant Courses at SUNY New Paltz
EGM 322 Mechanics of Materials
EGM 212 Dynamics
EGM332 Fluid Mechanics
EGM 334 Heat Transfer
Photo 1:Dr. Johnson in a BBC documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADc5ndVMl8k)
Photo 2: Dr. Johnson, the father of Super Soaker (https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37062579)