Career and research
Johnson joined Williams College in 1977 as an assistant professor, and becoming full professor in 1989. [1] He served as chair of the Geosciences Department from 1996 to 2000 and was appointed the Charles L. MacMillan Professor of Natural Science in 1994, a position he held until his retirement in 2012. [6] Throughout his career, Johnson conducted fieldwork across six continents, supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund. [7]
Johnson has published in academic journals and books, contributing both scholarly research and public science communication. In 2023, he published Islands in Deep Time, which reflects on the geologic legacy of islands discovered across his career. [8]
Johnson’s research on ancient rocky shorelines has enhanced understanding of intertidal ecosystems through geological time. [9] His 2012 chapter, Development of Intertidal Biotas Through Phanerozoic Time, co-authored with B. Gudveig Baarli, reviews fossil assemblages from 361 global localities, documenting over 1,600 species from Cambrian to Pleistocene strata. [10] The study distinguishes between rocky, muddy, and sandy shorelines, with 45% of sites representing ancient rocky shores, which exhibit the change. [11]
Johnson's early research focused on Silurian sea-level changes, examining global stratigraphic patterns through studies in the U.S., Canada, Norway, Estonia, England, Australia, Siberia, and China. [12]
From 1992 to 2000, he chaired the Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy under the International Union of Geological Sciences, leading global research efforts. [4]
Since 1989, Johnson has conducted annual fieldwork in Baja California, Mexico, investigating coastal landscapes shaped by past climate and sea-level changes. [13] His findings culminated in three books published by the University of Arizona Press: Discovering the Geology of Baja California (2002), Off-Trail Adventures in Baja California (2014), and Baja California’s Coastal Landscapes Revealed (2021), which combine scientific insights with travelogue reflections, often referencing Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck's 1940 expedition. [14]
In 1999, with support from the National Geographic Society, Johnson, Baarli, and Chinese paleontologist Rong Jia-yu discovered Bater Island in Inner Mongolia—a fossilized Silurian island with stromatoporoids and tabulate corals. [15] This discovery was the first of its kind in China. [14] During a 2003–2004 sabbatical, Johnson expanded his paleoisland research with fieldwork in the U.S., Australia, Japan, the Seychelles, and the Balearic Islands, furthering his studies on the evolution of island ecosystems. [16]
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