Meet the Leadership Team
Benny
G. Johnson, Ph.D., Co-Founder, President, holds Bachelor
of Science degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University
of Kentucky, and received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry from
Carnegie Mellon University in 1993, working with Professor John A.
Pople, a 1998 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. As an undergraduate, he
captured first place in BFGoodrich's prestigious Waldo Semon Undergraduate
Research Competition for his work on computer elucidation of reaction
mechanisms. During his graduate work, Dr. Johnson focused heavily
on the research and development of methods for quantum mechanical
study of large molecules. He is world-recognized as a leading expert
in the field of theoretical chemistry and, has contributed substantially
to several significant academic, commercial and government chemistry
research software projects, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's
NWChem project, part of the Department of Energy's effort to solve
environmental problems related to the Hanford Nuclear Site in the
state of Washington.
Dr. Johnson is the author of over fifty
scholarly publications in academic journals and books, and has delivered
invited lectures at many national and international conferences. He
is an accomplished software developer with more than fifteen years
of experience writing scientific and educational software. As principal
investigator on various research and development projects, Dr. Johnson
has received over $11 million in SBIR and other awards through various
agencies including the U.S. Department of Education, the National
Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department
of Energy, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Ben
Franklin Technology Center of Western Pennsylvania (now Innovation
Works). Prior to his current venture at Quantum®, Dr. Johnson developed
the results of his theoretical chemistry research and successfully
released a full-featured quantum chemistry software product to a worldwide
market of industrial, academic and government researchers.
Dr. Johnson has been involved in education
at various levels for many years and has a comprehensive understanding
of the teaching techniques, curriculum and content required to educate
students in science and mathematics. He experienced outstanding success
as a private tutor of chemistry and mathematics while at the University
of Kentucky where he was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007. As
a graduate student, he received an Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award
from the Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemistry. Dr. Johnson's
proven ability in and commitment to technology, coupled with his experience
in education, research and business, provide the essential leadership
and expertise required to complete all phases of product development
and commercialization. Based on his work in advancing the state of
the art in artificial intelligence technology systems for education,
he was invited to speak at the Education Secretary's No Child Left
Behind Technology Leadership Summit. He is also a recipient of a national
Tibbetts Award, the highest recognition given by the federal government
to small businesses for innovative research.
