Dexter Johnson

Dexter Johnson has served as an engineer, educator, entrepreneur, minister, and musician. He is a former NASA Technical Fellow for Loads and Dynamics.

Johnson previously served as an Aerospace Research Engineer in the Structural Dynamics and Aeroelasticity Branch, the Acting Branch Chief of the Controls and Dynamics Technology Branch, and the Acting Deputy Chief of the Life Prediction Branch. He also worked at Cleveland State University as a part-time faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

He graduated from UB with a Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1987, and a Masters and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Mechanical Engineering, in 1989 and 1995, respectively.

In 1998, Dexter was one of six individuals selected nationwide to participate in the prestigious NASA Administrator‘s Fellowship Program. During his two-year tenure in the program, he was a visiting professor at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, worked at NASA Headquarters in the Office of Aero-Space Technology Programs Division, and was a visiting researcher at Pratt & Whitney in E. Hartford, Connecticut, Veridian Engineering in Buffalo New York, and Moog Inc. in East Aurora, New York.

In 1998, Dexter received the esteemed “NASA Honor Award - Exceptional Service Medal” for “the successful development of power-saving magnetic bearing controls for magnetic suspension systems, the development of a magnetic suspension and excitation system for the Dynamic Spin Rig, and contributions to the NASA Administrator’s Fellowship Program.” In 2003, he won the Structures Division Mentor of the Year Award at NASA Glenn. In 2003, he won the National Technical Association Technical Achiever of the Year - Technologist Category Award. In 2006, he won the Science Spectrum Magazine Trailblazer Award. The Science Spectrum Trailblazers are outstanding Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, and Black professionals in the science arena whose leadership and innovative thinking on the job and in the community extend throughout and beyond their industry. In 2006, he was selected as a University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences 60 years of Excellence - Distinguished Alumni. In 2008, he won the NASA Honor Award - Group Achievement Award for contributing to the design and development of the NASA Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator. The Ares I-X  was the first demonstration flight test of NASA’s new launch vehicle, and was launched in October 2009.  In 2010, he received the Celestial Torch Award – Aerospace Pioneer of the Year from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Aerospace Systems Conference.

In 2022, Johnson was named the Engineer of the Year by the University at Buffalo Engineering and Applied Sciences Alumni Association (UBEAA).