Christopher R. Johnson, '82 B.S., College of Science and Mathematics
Chris Johnson graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. He received his Master of Science degree in Physics and his Ph.D. in Biophysics and Computing from the University of Utah.
Johnson is the founding director the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute at the University of Utah where he is a distinguished professor of computer science and holds faculty appointments in the departments of physics and bioengineering. His research interests are in the areas of scientific computing and scientific visualization. Johnson founded the SCI research group in 1992, which has since grown to become the SCI Institute, employing over 200 faculty, staff, and students. Johnson serves on many international journal editorial boards, as well as on advisory boards to national research centers. His awards include the NSF Presidential Faculty Fellow (PFF) award from President Clinton in 1995, and the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology from Governor Michael Leavitt in 1999. Johnson is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and received the Utah Cyber Pioneer Award.
Johnson is internationally regarded as one of the foremost researchers and leaders in scientific visualization and scientific computing. In pursuing his research, Johnson has been principle investigator on more than $50 million of research grants, has written over 140 papers and book chapters, has given more than 80 keynote or plenary presentations, and more than 150 invited talks at national and international conferences and workshops.