Lonnie Johnson (inventor)
American inventor (born 1949)
Lonnie Johnson
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Johnson in 2016
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Born |
Lonnie George Johnson
( 1949-10-06 ) October 6, 1949 (age 73) [1]
Mobile, Alabama
, U.S.
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Alma mater | Tuskegee University (BS, MS) |
Occupation(s) | Inventor, Engineer |
Years active | 1978–Present |
Known for | Super Soaker ,and Nerf gun |
Spouse | Linda Moore |
Children | 4 |
Lonnie George Johnson (born October 6, 1949) is an American inventor, aerospace engineer, and entrepreneur, whose work includes a U.S. Air Force -term of service and a twelve-year stint at NASA , where he worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory . He invented the Super Soaker water gun in 1989, which has been among the world's bestselling toys ever since. [2]
Early life/kid
Johnson was born in Mobile, Alabama . [3] His mother, who finished high school, worked as a nurse's aide and his father, who didn't finish high school, was a World War II veteran. His father explained the basic principles of electricity to Johnson at an early age. [4] Stating that he "always liked to tinker with things," Johnson earned the nickname "the Professor" from kids in the neighborhood. [4] He once "tore up his sister's baby doll to see what made her eyes close". [2] He also tried to cook up rocket fuel in a saucepan but in doing so almost burned down the house. [2]
As a teenager, Johnson attended Williamson High School , an all-black school in Mobile. [5] He drew much of his inspiration from George Washington Carver . [6] In 1968, Johnson represented his high school at a science fair in Alabama, where he was the only black student attending the fair; This was a time when African Americans had very little presence in science. [4] There, he presented a robot he created, which he named "Linex," taking home the first-place prize. The robot was powered by compressed air. [4]
In 1969, shortly after graduating from high school, Johnson attended Tuskegee University , obtaining a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1973 and a master's degree in nuclear engineering in 1975. [2] [7] He also holds an honorary Ph.D. in Science from Tuskegee University. [8] He then worked for the U.S. Air Force , where he worked on the stealth bomber program, before eventually joining NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1979. [3]
Career
During his time at NASA (1979-1991), Johnson worked on a variety of projects, including the Air Force missions Lab, developing the nuclear power source for the Galileo mission to Jupiter , [9] several weapons-related projects, as well as an engineer on the Mariner Mark ll Spacecraft series for the Comet Rendezvous and Saturn Orbiter Probe missions. [10] He also worked on the stealth bomber program. [11]
In 1991, Johnson founded his own company, Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc., of which he is also the president. [10]
More recently, he teamed up with scientists from both Tulane University and Tuskegee University to develop a method of transforming heat into electricity to make green energy more affordable. [9]
As of 2022, Johnson has three technology-development companies, Excellatron Solid State, LLC, Johnson Energy Storage, and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS), operating in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. [12] [13] [14] JEMS has developed the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System (JTEC) which Popular Mechanics listed as one of the top 10 inventions of 2009. [15] Johnson Energy Storage has developed a solid-state battery and as of early 2023 is raising funds to develop a demonstration manufacturing line. [16]
Johnson is a "part of a small group of African-American inventors whose work accounts for 6 percent of all U.S. patent applications". [17]
Super Soaker
Johnson first conceived the Super Soaker while doing work with the U.S. Air Force . Initially called the "Power Drencher" when it first appeared in toy shops in 1990, it eventually got its trademark name after some tweaks and remarketing. [15] Selling between $10 and $60 depending on the model, the Super Soaker took off, generating $200 million in sales in 1991. [2] Shortly after making the deal for the Super Soaker with the Larami Corporation , Larami became a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. in February 1995. [18]
Johnson tweaked the design of the water gun, replacing the water in the Super Soaker with a "toy [Nerf] projectile."
In February 2013 Johnson filed suit against Hasbro after he discovered that he was being underpaid royalties for the Super Soaker and several Nerf line of toys. [19] In November 2013, Johnson was awarded nearly $73 million in royalties from Hasbro Inc. in arbitration. According to Hasbro, the Super Soaker is approaching sales of $1 billion. [20]
Accolades
Johnson holds more than 250 patents, most of which are for his Super Soaker. Johnson was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal . He received several awards from NASA for his work in spacecraft system design at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. [8] In 2008, he was awarded the Breakthrough Award from science magazine Popular Mechanics for his work related to JTEC and was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2011. [6] [21] In 2015, the Super Soaker was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. [22] In 2022, Johnson was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. [23]
Personal life
Johnson is currently married to Linda Moore. They have four children and live in the Ansley Park district of Atlanta, Georgia. [2]
References
- ↑ Broad, William J. Engineer At Play: Lonnie Johnson -Rocket Scientist, Served Up Soggy Archived February 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine , July 31, 2001, The New York Times .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lonnie Johnson" . Biography.com . A&E Television Networks. January 26, 2021 . Retrieved February 24, 2023 .
- 1 2 "Lonnie G. Johnson | African American Inventors | Scholastic.com" . teacher.scholastic.com . Archived from the original on February 19, 2020 . Retrieved February 11, 2020 .
- 1 2 3 4 "The father of the Super Soaker" . BBC News . August 15, 2016. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020 . Retrieved February 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Ward, Logan (November 2010). "Shooting for the Sun" . The Atlantic . Archived from the original on July 18, 2012 . Retrieved July 25, 2014 .
- 1 2 "BHM Highlight: Lonnie G Johnson, Air Force engineer and inventor of the Super Soaker" . Liberty Science Center . Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 . Retrieved February 11, 2020 .
- ↑ "Inventor, alumnus Lonnie Johnson '73 returns to Tuskegee for Feb. 23 public lecture | Tuskegee University" . www.tuskegee.edu . Archived from the original on February 13, 2020 . Retrieved February 11, 2020 .
- 1 2 "Award Honoree" . Trumpet Awards . Archived from the original on June 4, 2020 . Retrieved June 4, 2020 .
- 1 2 Pagan, Kennedy (August 2, 2013). "Who Made That Super Soaker?" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 5, 2016 . Retrieved April 4, 2016 .
- 1 2 "Lonnie G. Johnson 1949–" . Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016 . Retrieved April 4, 2016 .
- ↑ "Summer Inventions: A NASA Engineer Created the Super Soaker?!" . Biography.com . A&E Television Networks. July 21, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014 . Retrieved July 25, 2014 .
- ↑ Wheeler, Candace (July 16, 2015). "Super Soaker Inventor Now Engineers Batteries At Atlanta Lab" . WABE. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015 . Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
- ↑ "Excellatron – the Company" . www.excellatron.com . Archived from the original on February 18, 2017 . Retrieved February 17, 2017 .
- ↑ "Johnson Energy Storage, Inc" . The Future of Energy Storage . Retrieved March 14, 2023 .
- 1 2 Kremer, William (August 16, 2016). "Lonnie Johnson: The father of the Super Soaker" . BBC News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016 . Retrieved August 16, 2016 .
- ↑ "This billion-dollar-selling toy was inspired by heat pumps" . Canary Media . Retrieved March 14, 2023 .
- ↑ Karlin, S. (July 1, 2002). "From squirts to hertz [Lonnie Johnson, inventor]". IEEE Spectrum . 39 (7): 46–48. doi : 10.1109/MSPEC.2002.1015464 . ISSN 0018-9235 .
- ↑ "Larami Super Soakers Is Whetting Hasbro Inc.'s Appetite This Is The Third Time The Toy Maker Has Been Sold" . philly-archives . Archived from the original on September 18, 2015 . Retrieved October 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Seward, Christopher. "Super Soaker creator awarded $72.9M from Hasbro" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Archived from the original on October 10, 2016 . Retrieved October 10, 2016 .
- ↑ "Super Soaker" . National Toy Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on December 26, 2019 . Retrieved January 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Tribune, Atlanta (December 5, 2017). "2017 Hall of Fame Inductee: Dr. Lonnie Johnson" . Atlanta Tribune . Archived from the original on February 22, 2020 . Retrieved February 11, 2020 .
- ↑ Waxman, Olivia B. (November 5, 2015). "See Which Toys Were Just Inducted Into the National Toy Hall of Fame" . Time . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022 . Retrieved August 7, 2022 .
- ↑ "Lonnie Johnson, Engineer Extraordinaire | National Inventors Hall of Fame®" . www.invent.org . Retrieved March 14, 2023 .
General references
- "Lonnie G. Johnson, The SuperSoaker" . MIT School of Engineering. September 1998. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013 . Retrieved April 4, 2016 .
- Anderson, Jessica (March 2007). "Yes, You Can Make a Million" . Kiplinger's Personal Finance . Archived from the original on March 1, 2007 . Retrieved April 4, 2016 .
- Jones, Willie D. Jones (March 2008). "Super Soaker Inventor Invents New Thermoelectric Generator" . IEEE Spectrum . Retrieved April 4, 2016 .
- Ward, Logan (October 10, 2008). "Top 10 New World-Changing Innovations of the Year (With Videos!)" . Popular Mechanics . Archived from the original on November 16, 2014 . Retrieved April 4, 2016 .
External links
- Profile , Johnson R&D
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