A.T. Charlie Johnson

A.T. Charlie Johnson serves as the Rebecca W. Bushnell Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania, holding secondary appointments in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He is a prominent figure in Physics, particularly in condensed matter experimental research. Johnson obtained his B.S. in Physics from Stanford University in 1984, followed by an M.S. in 1986 and a Ph.D. in 1990, both from Harvard University. His postdoctoral training included positions as a European Union ESPRIT Postdoctoral Fellow at Delft University of Technology from 1990 to 1992 and a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 1992 to 1993. Joining the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, he progressed to Associate Professor from 2001 to 2008 and has been a full Professor since 2008, assuming the endowed chair in 2019. Additionally, he is the co-founder of VOC Health since 2019.

Johnson's research group specializes in experimental nanoscale Physics, focusing on the synthesis and study of two-dimensional materials such as graphene, boron nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenides. They explore transport properties—charge, energy, and spin—and develop applications including nanobiosensors for detecting diseases like cancer and HIV, chemical vapor sensors, and nanoelectronic devices. Utilizing advanced nanofabrication in the Singh Center for Nanotechnology, the group has produced seminal works, including "Carbon nanotube composites for thermal management" (Applied Physics Letters, 2002, over 2500 citations), "High weight fraction surfactant solubilization of single-wall carbon nanotubes in water" (Nano Letters, 2003, over 2500 citations), "Intrinsic response of graphene vapor sensors" (Nano Letters, 2009), and "Quantized phonon spectrum of single-wall carbon nanotubes" (Science, 2000). With over 25,000 citations on Google Scholar, his work has significantly influenced the field of nanomaterials. Johnson has been honored with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Science and Engineering Fellowship (1994-1999), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1995), Fellowship of the American Physical Society (2011), Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017), and the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching at Penn (2003). He directed the Nano/Bio Interface Center from 2014 to 2017 and participated in the Defense Science Study Group (2018-2019).

Professional Email: cjohnson@physics.upenn.edu