Joseph Johnson III

Joseph Andrew Johnson III (1940 – 2017) was an American physicist and professor at the Florida A&M University. He was a founding member of the National Society of Black Physicists. He was awarded the 1995 American Physical Society Edward Bouchet award and the 2016 Yale University Bouchet Leadership Award Medal.

Early life and education Johnson was born in Nashville, Tennessee to Grace and Bishop Joseph A. Johnson Jr. He attended Fisk University for his undergraduate studies, where he studied physics and graduated summa cum laude. Johnson was the second African American to obtain a Ph.D. in physics from Yale. He worked under the supervision of Henry Kraybill. After graduating, Johnson worked at the Sikorsky Aircraft company and Bell Labs.

Research and career Johnson was made Herbert Kayser Professor of Science and Engineering at the City College of New York. His research considered turbulence in plasmas and laser-induced fluorescence.

Throughout his career, Johnson looked to support minority scientists and engineers. He was involved with outreach and education programmes for minority students, and supervised several doctoral researchers. In the early 1970s he helped to arrange the first meeting of African-American physicists. In 1988 he worked with Abdus Salam to host a meeting for African and African-American physicists at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. 1990 Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society 1992 Charter Fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists 1995 American Physical Society Edward Bouchet Award 2016 Yale University Bouchet Leadership Award Medal

Selected publications

Personal life Johnson was married to Lynette E. Johnson. Together they had four children and nine grandchildren.