Science
Lonnie Johnson: Inventor of the Super Soaker and aerospace engineer
Lonnie Johnson invented the Super Soaker and worked on NASA spacecraft. He holds more than 120 patents and advances energy technology.
Lonnie George Johnson is an American inventor, aerospace engineer and entrepreneur best known for inventing the Super Soaker water gun.
Early life and education
Born October 6, 1949, in Mobile, Alabama, Johnson grew up tinkering with rockets and machines. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering from Tuskegee University.
Career at NASA and the Air Force
Johnson worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Galileo mission to Jupiter and other spacecraft projects. He also served in the U.S. Air Force, including work related to the B-2 Stealth Bomber program.
The Super Soaker
In 1982, while working on a heat pump in his basement, a stream of water shot across the room and gave him the idea for a high-pressure water gun. Licensed in 1989, the Super Soaker became one of the best-selling toys of the 1990s, generating more than a billion dollars in sales.
Later work
Johnson holds more than 120 patents. He has reinvested earnings from the Super Soaker into energy research, including battery technology and the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter (JTEC), which converts heat into electricity.
Legacy
Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022, Johnson continues to invent and mentor the next generation of engineers.
