Lonnie G. Johnson Jr.
October 6, 1949
EDUCATION:
Williams High School
Tuskegee University
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in nuclear Engineering.
OCCUPATION :
Engineer and Inventor
Founder of Johnson Research and Development Co. (Excellatron Solid State, LLC and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS)
Johnson was born in Mobile, Alabama. His father was a World War II veteran and his mother worked as a nurse’s.
Johnson conceived the Super Soaker while doing work with the US Air Force. Initially, it was called the “Power Drencher” when it appeared in toy shops in 1990, but after some tweaks and remarketing, it got its name. Selling between $10 to $60 depending on the model, the Super Soaker took off, generating $200 million in sales in 1991. Shortly after making the deal for the Super Soaker with the Larami Corporation, Larami became a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. in February 1995.
Johnson tweaked the design of the water gun, replacing the water in the Super Soaker with a “toy [Nerf] projectile.” In 1996, Johnson received patent US5553598 A for a “Pneumatic launcher for a toy projectile and the like.”
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. 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
He recently, he teamed up with scientists from Tulane University and Tuskegee University to develop a method of transforming heat into electricity with the goal of making green energy more affordable.
Johnson currently has two technology-development companies: Excellatron Solid State, LLC, and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS). They both currently operate in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta.
Excellatron Solid State, LLC is a U.S. -based technology company that focuses on the development and production of solid-state batteries, particularly thin film batteries. Its mission is stated as “…to develop revolutionary energy storage technology as well as the manufacturing technology required for its cost-effective commercialization.” The company’s batteries boast safety, high-temperature capability, long cycle life, thin flexible profiles, unique proprietary passivation barrier and packaging solution, and high rate capability. The company is targeting military applications and implantable medical devices as initial consumers.
JEMS has developed the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System (JTEC), listed by Popular Mechanics as one of the top 10 inventions of 2009. This system has potential applications in solar power plants and ocean thermal power generation. It converts thermal energy to electrical energy using a non-steam process which works by pushing hydrogen ions through two membranes, with claimed advantages over alternative systems. The companies operate a research laboratory in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta.
Johnson is a “part of a small group of African-American inventors whose work accounts for 6 percent of all U.S. patent applications.”
In 2008, Johnson was awarded the Breakthrough Award from the science magazine Popular Mechanics for his work related to JTEC and was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2011.
He is married and has four children and resides in Georgia.