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Kevin B. Johnson

Visiting Research Professor | College of Engineering and Science: Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences

Contact Information

johnson@sydotnet.net
(321) 674-7186
Edwin A. Link Building, 116

Expertise

Larval ecology

Personal Overview

Kevin B. Johnson, Professor of Oceanography and Environmental Science, Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences. Dr. Johnson received his B.S. (1992) in Zoology at Brigham Young University and Ph.D. (1998) in Biology from the University of Oregon.

Prior to coming to Florida Tech, Dr. Johnson was appointed Postdoctoral Fellow of the Smithsonian Institution, where he worked on problems of growth and navigation in meroplanktonic invertebrate larvae.  During his time with the Smithsonian, Dr. Johnson was involved in deep-sea submersible research offshore of the Bahamas, part of a team studying the ecology of new deep-sea species.  Dr. Johnson was then recruited by the National Science Foundation as a Postdoctoral Fellow at NSF’s Center for Environmental Analysis – Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CEA-CREST) at California State University, Los Angeles.  During his tenure at CEA-CREST, Dr. Johnson conducted field research on mussel recruitment and benthic ecology at the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies (University of Southern California) based on Santa Catalina Island. Dr. Johnson also conducted research on similar topics at Bamfield Marine Station (BMS) in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada.  Bamfield is the marine laboratory for a consortium of Canadian universities, including the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary. Following his time with the National Science Foundation, Dr. Johnson was a Lecturer in Zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University, a liberal arts college.  This experience led Dr. Johnson to Florida Tech, which he chose partly because of the small class sizes. In his career, Dr. Johnson has spent nearly 6 months at-sea, teaching and conducting research, and lived and worked at 10 coastal marine laboratories.

In addition to over thirty peer-reviewed articles on marine ecology and restoration, including studies of oyster settlement, copepod grazing, and harmful algae, Dr. Johnson has authored book chapters in books such as “Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae” (C.M. Young, ed., 2002) and “An Identification Guide to the Larval Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest” (A.L. Shanks, ed., 2001).  Dr. Johnson is also the author the second edition of “A Guide to Marine Coastal Plankton and Marine Invertebrate Larvae” (1977, 1996), a reference manual in print for almost 50 years and used on every continent. 

Dr. Johnson's research program revolves around plankton ecology, marine invertebrate recruitment, invasive species, seagrass ecology, harmful algae, and estuarine restoration  He has mentored over one hundred undergraduate and graduate students on research in his laboratory, and the National Science Foundation has recruited him as Chair of the Ecology Panel for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (2010-2013).  Dr. Johnson has received recognition within the university for Excellence in Teaching (College and University Awards, 2008 and 2009), Excellence in Service (University Award, 2012), “Most Valuable Panther” (Fall 2012), and the President’s Award for Service Excellence (2013, 2014, and 2015).