Lonnie Johnson
President & Founder
JOHNSON RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (USA)

Snapshot: The inventor of the SuperSoaker water gun developed a disruptive rechargeable battery technology

Lonnie Johnson is President and Founder of Johnson Research & Development Co., Inc., a technology development company, and its spin-off companies, Excellatron Solid State, LLC, and Johnson Electro Mechanical Systems (JEMS), LLC. Excellatron and JEMS, are developing revolutionary energy technology. Excellatron is introducing two new generations of rechargeable battery technology. It will address the critical needs of future mobile energy systems. With many times the energy storage capability of conventional lithium ion technology at reduced size, weight and cost, Excellatron is being positioned to disrupt the battery industry and establish a new paradigm. Dr. Johnson holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, a M.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering, and a honorary Ph.D. in Science from Tuskegee University. He was twice awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal. As a civilian, he received multiple achievement awards from NASA for his spacecraft system design work on the Galileo Mission to Jupiter and the Mars Observer projects while at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In 1989, Dr. Johnson formed his own engineering firm and licensed his most famous invention, the SuperSoaker® water gun, to Larami Corporation. Two years later, the SuperSoaker, which has generated almost $1 billion in retail sales, became the number one selling toy in America.