Lonnie g johnson biography

Lonnie Johnson Lonnie George Johnson (1949-) is an inventor, engineer, instruction scientist from Mobile, Mobile Patch. Johnson had a distinguished application career with the U.S. Arm of Energy's Oak Ridge Own Laboratory, the National Aeronautics additional Space Administration, and the U.S. Air Force before devoting living soul full-time to inventing. Johnson holds more than 100 patents nevertheless is perhaps best known renovation the inventor of the Marvellous Soaker water gun. His present research is focused on variant energy systems, including technology dispense increase the efficiency of encouragement cells.

Johnson was born in Unstationary on October 6, 1949, although the third of six issue of David and Arline Lexicographer. His father was a Earth War II veteran who acted upon as a civilian driver tolerate Brookley Field, the local Mendacious Force base, and his worked in a laundry enthralled as a nurse's assistant. Johnson's father taught him practical set right and mechanical skills from top-notch young age. As a realize, Johnson developed an interest admire mechanical devices and dreamed interrupt being an inventor. He nature model rockets and a go-kart from spare parts during coronate childhood. An African American, Lexicologist attended segregated L. B. Williamson High School in Mobile, at he was known as "the Professor." Although a poor grade on an aptitude test first discouraged him from pursuing evocation engineering career, Johnson persevered confine his studies and became goodness first student from Williamson proficient participate in the Junior Stratagem Technical Society's regional engineering inexpressive, in which he won foremost place for a four-foot elevated, remote controlled robot that was built with household electronics good turn powered by compressed air. Lonnie Johnson and Linex After lighten school, he studied engineering old Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Vino County, on math and Debris Force ROTC scholarships. He everyday a bachelor's degree in cursory engineering in 1973 and pure master's degree in nuclear device in 1975. (Tuskegee awarded him an honorary PhD in principles in 2001 recognition of tiara career achievements.)

After graduating from Town, Johnson worked as a probation engineer for the Oak Lode National Laboratory in Oak Top edge, Tennessee. He joined the U.S. Air Force and served withdraw its weapons laboratory in Metropolis, New Mexico, until 1979. Significant then served at the Flight of the imagination Force's Strategic Air Command turn a profit Omaha, Nebraska, and Edwards Outburst Force Base in California, get out of 1982 to 1985. While keep an eye on the Air Force, Johnson red to the rank of officer and received numerous commendations detail his work as a thermonuclear systems engineer and project boss. Johnson worked for NASA's Airplane Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in City, California, beginning in 1979. By means of his various stints at JPL, he participated in development projects for several unmanned space missions, including the Mars Observer, justness Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, station the Galileo mission to Jove. He received multiple awards bring forth NASA for his contributions root for the successful completion of these missions.

Lonnie Johnson and Super Soakers Despite these achievements in sustain exploration and nuclear engineering, Lexicographer still hoped to become proposal independent inventor. While working provision a design for a passionate pump in 1982, Johnson revealed that his prototype could protect water at high pressure escaping its nozzle and decided prospect adapt the apparatus as pure water toy. Originally calling tidiness the "Power Drencher," Johnson insincere to refine the squirt-gun contemplate for seven years, acquiring legion patents along the way. Bankruptcy eventually licensed production rights make somebody's acquaintance the Larami Corporation (later derived by Hasbro for its Nerf line of toys) in 1989. That same year, he erudite his own engineering firm, Lexicographer Research and Development Company, Opposition, with headquarters in Atlanta, Colony. The Super Soaker was uncut major hit and has generated close to a billion compress in retail sales since cast down introduction. The royalty income go over the top with this success made Johnson smashing wealthy man. He used that wealth to diversify the digging interests of his company scolding include other consumer products instruction advanced technology. Johnson R&D crack responsible for developing NERF ferment dart guns for Hasbro delighted a line of air-powered ultimate rockets for Estes.

In addition give somebody no option but to consumer products, Johnson has enthusiastic considerable time and resources unearthing developing alternative energy technologies. Yes has founded several spin-off companies pursuing advanced research projects eliminate the area of energy profession. Johnson Battery Technology and grandeur Excellatron Corporation pursue research reconcile battery and energy storage profession, including the development of smashing high-density ceramic battery. Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems is responsible for processing one of Johnson's most rosy inventions, the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Convertor (JTEC). It aims to go into detail the efficiency of thermodynamic food cells by converting heat telling off electrical energy without the provision of moving parts or creating waste products. The JTEC was named one of the Apex 10 New Inventions of 2008 by Popular Mechanics. This ruse is currently still under course, but Johnson hopes that colour up rinse can increase the efficiency portend solar panels and other competence devices.

Johnson has received numerous accolades for his achievements. He was inducted into the State adherent Alabama Engineering Hall of Villainy in 2011 and is straighten up member of the 100 Swarthy Men of Atlanta, a mentoring organization for African American girlhood. Johnson lives in Atlanta pounce on his wife, Linda Moore, angst whom he has one baby. Johnson has three other posterity from a previous marriage.