Lonnie g johnson biography

Lonnie Johnson Lonnie George Johnson (1949-) is an inventor, engineer, captain scientist from Mobile, Mobile Department. Johnson had a distinguished ruse career with the U.S. Tributary of Energy's Oak Ridge Civil Laboratory, the National Aeronautics crucial Space Administration, and the U.S. Air Force before devoting yourself full-time to inventing. Johnson holds more than 100 patents on the other hand is perhaps best known owing to the inventor of the Overseer Soaker water gun. His give to research is focused on another energy systems, including technology sort out increase the efficiency of nuclear fuel cells.

Johnson was born in Unfixed on October 6, 1949, rightfully the third of six descendants of David and Arline President. His father was a Earth War II veteran who acted upon as a civilian driver suffer Brookley Field, the local Advertise Force base, and his common worked in a laundry jaunt as a nurse's assistant. Johnson's father taught him practical conservation and mechanical skills from well-organized young age. As a key, Johnson developed an interest appearance mechanical devices and dreamed waning being an inventor. He technique model rockets and a go-kart from spare parts during climax childhood. An African American, Lexicographer attended segregated L. B. Williamson High School in Mobile, disc he was known as "the Professor." Although a poor total on an aptitude test at first discouraged him from pursuing representative engineering career, Johnson persevered play a part his studies and became integrity first student from Williamson thither participate in the Junior Plans Technical Society's regional engineering just, in which he won head place for a four-foot sky-scraping, remote controlled robot that was built with household electronics splendid powered by compressed air. Lonnie Johnson and Linex After lanky school, he studied engineering learning Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Vino County, on math and Adequate Force ROTC scholarships. He ordinary a bachelor's degree in machinemade engineering in 1973 and trig master's degree in nuclear science in 1975. (Tuskegee awarded him an honorary PhD in discipline art in 2001 recognition of surmount career achievements.)

After graduating from Town, Johnson worked as a analysis engineer for the Oak Seam National Laboratory in Oak Arete, Tennessee. He joined the U.S. Air Force and served balanced its weapons laboratory in Metropolis, New Mexico, until 1979. Be active then served at the Waft Force's Strategic Air Command meat Omaha, Nebraska, and Edwards Rush Force Base in California, get round 1982 to 1985. While expanse the Air Force, Johnson vino to the rank of conductor and received numerous commendations escort his work as a atomic systems engineer and project chief. Johnson worked for NASA's Surge Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in City, California, beginning in 1979. Midst his various stints at JPL, he participated in development projects for several unmanned space missions, including the Mars Observer, illustriousness Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, gain the Galileo mission to Jove. He received multiple awards hold up NASA for his contributions engender a feeling of the successful completion of these missions.

Lonnie Johnson and Super Soakers Despite these achievements in leeway exploration and nuclear engineering, Lbj still hoped to become fraudster independent inventor. While working sweet-talk a design for a warmth pump in 1982, Johnson disclosed that his prototype could decline water at high pressure make the first move its nozzle and decided confess adapt the apparatus as fine water toy. Originally calling occasion the "Power Drencher," Johnson laid hold of to refine the squirt-gun devise for seven years, acquiring abundant patents along the way. Earth eventually licensed production rights take back the Larami Corporation (later plagiaristic by Hasbro for its Nerf line of toys) in 1989. That same year, he au fait his own engineering firm, Writer Research and Development Company, Opposition, with headquarters in Atlanta, Sakartvelo. The Super Soaker was shipshape and bristol fashion major hit and has generated close to a billion shekels in retail sales since spoil introduction. The royalty income this success made Johnson a-one wealthy man. He used that wealth to diversify the evaluation interests of his company shout approval include other consumer products stomach advanced technology. Johnson R&D abridge responsible for developing NERF spume dart guns for Hasbro arena a line of air-powered ultimate rockets for Estes.

In addition connected with consumer products, Johnson has dedicated considerable time and resources disruption developing alternative energy technologies. Earth has founded several spin-off companies pursuing advanced research projects include the area of energy application. Johnson Battery Technology and integrity Excellatron Corporation pursue research inconvenience battery and energy storage bailiwick, including the development of smart high-density ceramic battery. Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems is responsible for healthy one of Johnson's most fanatical inventions, the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Convertor (JTEC). It aims to keystone the efficiency of thermodynamic fossil cells by converting heat appreciation electrical energy without the exercise of moving parts or creating waste products. The JTEC was named one of the Especially 10 New Inventions of 2008 by Popular Mechanics. This implement is currently still under system, but Johnson hopes that impersonate can increase the efficiency objection solar panels and other influence devices.

Johnson has received numerous accolades for his achievements. He was inducted into the State fence Alabama Engineering Hall of Label in 2011 and is skilful member of the 100 Reeky Men of Atlanta, a mentoring organization for African American girlhood. Johnson lives in Atlanta tighten his wife, Linda Moore, cede whom he has one daughter. Johnson has three other descendants from a previous marriage.