Lonnie Johnson Biography

Dr. Lonnie Johnson is the founder and president of Johnson Research and Development, a non-profit organization committed to teaching disadvantaged kids in STEM, as well as three technology-related spin-off firms. Dr. Johnson is a renowned inventor with over 150 patents under his belt. As a kid, he began "tinkering," and his unquenchable curiosity and creativity drove him to explore, experiment, and innovate. He was in high school at the time, and he was manufacturing rocket fuel on the stove in his kitchen. He knew his experimental days would be over as soon as his parents returned home when the gasoline caught fire and the flames shot up to the ceiling. “Son, you're going to have to take your experiments outdoors for the time being!” his parents said. Those simple words of advice and support encouraged him to keep going for his goals. His first creation, "Linex," was a remote-controlled robot that he constructed and manufactured from scrap metal he discovered in a garbage yard for a high school project. Dr. Johnson was the first African American to win first place in a state-wide competition at the University of Alabama, and Linex was the first African American to do so. Dr. Johnson received a math scholarship to Tuskegee University and earned a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with honors. He received a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering two years later, and an honorary doctorate in Science from Tuskegee University several decades later. He worked on the Stealth Bomber Program and evaluated NASA space systems while in the US Air Force. He worked on the Galileo trip to Jupiter, the Mars Observer Project, and the Cassini mission to Saturn at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where he helped build some of the country's most sophisticated technologies. Two Air Force Commendation Medals, an Air Force Achievement Medal, NASA medals, The Trumpet Award, Lifetime Achievement Honours, Engineering Hall of Fame Award, Inventor's Hall of Fame Award, and Business of the Year Award are just a few of the awards he has earned. Dr. Johnson, a true rocket scientist, is happiest when he is inventing. He's working on his sophisticated battery technology, his revolutionary water condenser, or any of his other innovations when he's not working on his ingenious heat engine (which turns heat into electricity). He volunteers with inner-city children in his leisure time. He has never forgotten what his parents taught him in the kitchen that day, and his non-profit, Johnson STEM Activity Center, continues to encourage youngsters via STEM.

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