Dr. Lonnie Johnson
Dr. Lonnie Johnson is the CEO and Founder at Johnson R&D, where he created the JTEC. He is also CEO at JBT, which has developed a next-generation battery technology. Johnson is an engineer and inventor who holds more than 100 patents and whose technologies have been listed as world-class by media such as CNN, Popular Mechanics and TIME.
Johnson served in the U.S. Air Force, where he was awarded multiple medals and helped develop components in the stealth bomber program. Later as a NASA Nuclear Engineer, he received multiple achievement awards for his work in spacecraft system design. One of Johnson’s inventions was incorporated in the Galileo mission to Jupiter.
Johnson is most well known as the inventor of the Super Soaker squirt gun, which became one of the most popular toys in the world and has generated billions of dollars in retail revenue under the license. Super Soaker has received multiple industry awards, including Outdoor Toy of the Year.
Propelled by the success of the Super Soaker, Johnson founded Johnson R&D, where he spearheads development of the JTEC and a new solid-state lithium-metal battery. The solid-state battery can operate at very high temperatures while protecting against fire and explosion, making it a safer and more reliable alternative to traditional batteries and an ideal energy storage technology for the energy generated by the JTEC. Among his other technologies is the Johnson Thermo-electrochemical Converter (JTEC), an advanced heat engine that can convert heat into electricity with twice the efficiency of current methods. Utilizing waste heat, such as at solar farms or industrial process, makes the JTEC superior in its environmental responsibility.
Johnson holds an honorary doctorate in science, a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. In 2011, Johnson was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. Dr. Johnson also hosts and sponsors the national FIRST® Robotics Competition, a program that inspires young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. He is a mentor to Drstudents and provides an on-site location at JBT for the team to build and develop their inventions.