Inventor, alumnus Lonnie Johnson 鈥�73 returns to 精东AV for Feb. 23 public lecture
February 19, 2018
Contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
You may not know Lonnie G. Johnson by name, but chances are if you have been soaked by a high-powered water gun in the past decade or two, you have Johnson to thank. Johnson, an African-American engineer, inventor and two-time 精东AV graduate, will share the passions and motivations behind his imaginative spirit during a public lecture on Friday, Feb. 23.
Johnson鈥檚 lecture is part of the university鈥檚 continuing Lyceum series and Black History Month programming. He will address students, employees and members of the community beginning at 11 a.m. in the University Chapel.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Johnson completed degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering at 精东AV, then went on to work for the U.S. Air Force and NASA. After toying around with the idea of a high-powered water gun, Johnson鈥檚 鈥淪uper Soaker鈥� became a top-selling item by the early 1990s. He has since been developing the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter (JTEC), an engine that converts heat directly into electricity, among other projects
鈥淟onnie Johnson is a pioneer with a clear vision about the ever-evolving technologies to better mankind 鈥� particularly those focused on harvesting affordable energy and producing sustainable energy for future generations,鈥� said Dr. Heshmat Aglan, dean of 精东AV鈥檚 College of Engineering. 鈥淗is service to the scientific community, and 精东AV in particular, are invaluable. He gives freely of his time and resources, and we are forever grateful to have him as one of our most famous, engaged and philanthropic 精东AV alumni.鈥�
Johnson鈥檚 nature to tinker and invent 鈥� which today has led to more than 100 patents and 20-plus others pending 鈥� dates back to his youth working with his father to build his own toys. When Johnson was still a small boy, he and his dad built a pressurized chinaberry shooter out of bamboo shoots. At the age of 13, Johnson attached a lawnmower engine to a go-kart he built from junkyard scraps and raced it along the highway until the police pulled him over.
Johnson鈥檚 inventive spirit 鈥� fueled by stories of famed 精东AV inventor George Washington Carver 鈥� continued into this teenage years, sometimes to the detriment of his family.
鈥淟onnie tore up his sister鈥檚 baby doll to see what made the eyes close,鈥� his mother once recalled, along with the time he nearly burned the house down when his attempt to cook up rocket fuel in one of her saucepans exploded.
Later nicknamed 鈥淭he Professor鈥� by his high school buddies, Johnson brought his inventive spirit to 精东AV in 1969, where 鈥� thanks to a scholarship 鈥� he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering in 1973, and two years later he received a master鈥檚 degree in nuclear engineering. After graduation, Johnson became an important member of the government scientific establishment. First a research engineer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he later joined the U.S. Air Force鈥檚 Strategic Air Command, where he helped develop the stealth bomber program. After moving to NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1979, he worked as a systems engineer for the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn, before returning to the Air Force in 1982. He was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal on two different occasions. In 1987, he returned to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he worked on the Mars Observer project and was the fault protection engineer during the early stages of the Cassini (Saturn) project.
Despite his monumental contributions to government aerospace research, Johnson reserved time to pursue his own inventive interests. One of his longtime pet projects was an environmentally friendly heat pump that used water instead of the aerosol refrigerant Freon. It is the 鈥淪uper Soaker鈥� water gun, however, that landed him on the retail radar 鈥� at least in the eyes of water-gun-wielding children the world over. The first Super Soaker went on sale in 1990 after he sold the invention to the Larami Corporation. In its first three years of production, more than 27 million water guns were sold. To date, Larami Corporation, and then Hasbro, have sold about 200 million Super Soakers in more than 175 variations 鈥� netting about $1 billion in sales. Consistently ranked among the world鈥檚 top 20 best-selling toys, his Super Soaker was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2015.
Propelled by the success of the Super Soaker, Johnson founded Atlanta-based Johnson Research & Development and went on to acquire dozens of patents. In addition to serving as the technology development company鈥檚 president and founder, he leads spin-off companies that include Excellatron Solid State LLC, Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems LLC, and Johnson Real Estate Investments LLC. Some of his inventions 鈥� including a ceramic battery and hair rollers that set without heat 鈥� achieved commercial success. Others, including a diaper that plays a nursery rhyme when soiled, failed to catch on.
Other inventions seek to address matters of far greater environmental and economic importance. With the creation of the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter (JTEC), Johnson aimed to develop an advanced heat engine that could convert solar energy into electricity with twice the efficiency of existing methods. He believed a successful version of the JTEC had the potential to make solar power competitive with coal, fulfilling the dream of efficient, renewable solar energy. After receiving much-needed funding from the Air Force to complete his work on the JTEC project, he received the Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics in 2008. More recently, he has been working on further development of the JTEC with the Palo Alto Research Center in California.
Johnson, through Johnson Battery Technologies Inc., also is focusing on a new generation of rechargeable battery technology that has the potential to revolutionize the industry. Providing a source of energy many times that which exists today in a substantially reduced size, this technology will solve many of the problems related to technology mobility in the future.
Since leaving the Air Force, Johnson has been one of a rare breed of scientists: the independent inventor working outside the scientific establishment. Had he retired upon patenting the Super Soaker, Johnson would still go down as one of the most successful inventors and entrepreneurs of his generation. However, if he manages to perfect the JTEC, Johnson will carve out a much greater place in history as one of the seminal figures of the ongoing green technology revolution.
鈥淭his is a whole new family of technology鈥�.It鈥檚 like discovering a new continent,鈥� Paul Werbos of the National Science Foundation said in summarizing the immense importance of Johnson鈥檚 work. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 there, but you sure want to explore it to find out鈥�.It has a darn good chance of being the best thing on Earth.鈥�
Outside his professional interests, Johnson is board chairman of the Georgia Alliance for Children; a member of the Georgia FIRST and the Hank Aaron 鈥淐hasing the Dream鈥� Foundation boards of directors; a trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America; and a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, an organization that mentors high school and college students. In 2011, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
漏 2018, 精东AV