This month, C4IP is honoring Lonnie Johnson (born 1949), a prolific inventor whose work spans energy systems, aerospace engineering, and one of the most successful toys of all time.
- A nuclear engineer and former member of the Air Force, Johnson has conducted research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Strategic Air Command.
- He has contributed to numerous historic breakthroughs, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the development of the B2 stealth bomber.
- But Johnson is perhaps best known for an invention he discovered at home while working to develop an improved heat pump: a water gun that he ultimately patented and licensed to become the famous “Super Soaker” line of toys.
- As of 2015, over 250 million Super Soakers had been sold.
- The invention of the Super Soaker hasn’t just benefited children, though — the royalties from its record sales have funded Johnson’s other research into clean energy and rechargeable battery technology.
- Johnson holds over 100 patents and has founded two companies — Excellatron Solid State and Johnson Battery Technologies — to commercialize his inventions.
- Johnson’s career exemplifies how strong patent rights fuel a virtuous cycle of innovation — with commercially successful inventions giving innovators the ability to pursue more speculative, but potentially world-changing, research.