Dr. Dexter Johnson

Dr. Johnson currently serves as the NASA Technical Fellow for Loads and Dynamics.

Dr. Johnson began his NASA career in 1990 at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), as an Aerospace Research Engineer where he was involved in the development and application of Magnetic Suspension Technology to Advanced Aerospace Turbomachinery.  He is the inventor of the Adaptive Variable Bias Control method for power-saving operation of Active Magnetic Suspension Systems.  Later he held positions as the acting Deputy Chief of the Life Prediction Branch and the acting Chief of the Controls and Dynamics Technology Branch.  In 2006, he became the Chief of the Structural Systems Dynamics Branch, and he served as the Chief of the Structural Dynamics Branch at GRC from 2014 – 2018. 

Before joining the NESC as the NASA Technical Fellow for Loads and Dynamics, Dr. Johnson served as an active member of the NESC Loads and Dynamics Technical Discipline Team, and served as the GRC Loads and Dynamics Capability Leadership Team Discipline Lead since the inception of the Agency’s Technical Capability Assessment Team activities.  He is an expert in Structural Dynamics and Controls focused on Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft Loads and Dynamics, Advanced Rotating Machinery and Electromechanical Devices for Aerospace Systems.

He has published over 20 technical reports in addition to serving as an invited presenter and speaker at several conferences.  He is the recipient of the National Technical Association (NTA) “Technical Achiever of the Year”, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Inaugural “Celestial Torch Award – Aerospace Pioneer of the Year”, 2012 University at Buffalo Alumni Association Achievement Awards “Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award”, and numerous NASA Honor Awards.  Dr. Johnson has also participated in the NASA Administrator’s Fellowship Program and the NASA Leveraging Agency Supervisory Excellence and Resilience Pilot Program.  In 2018, he was awarded the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Associate Fellow.  He is a member of the NSBE and AIAA and serves those organizations in a leadership capacity. 

Dr. Johnson received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.