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Nathan Johnson

Nathan Johnson

Associate Professor, The Polytechnic School, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

nathanjohnson@asu.edu

480-727-5271

The Polytechnic School
Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus
7171 E Sonoran Arroyo Mall, Peralta 330
Mesa, AZ 85212

Titles

  • Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
  • Associate Professor, The Polytechnic School, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
  • Director, Laboratory for Energy and Power Solutions (LEAPS)
  • Director, ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet
  • Assistant Director of Research, International Development, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory

Biography

Nathan Johnson leads numerous efforts at Arizona State University to accelerate the advancement of sustainable development goals through innovation in stakeholder value propositions, technology, business models, and policy. In this, Johnson builds public-private partnerships in the US and internationally to develop energy decarbonization solutions leading to pilot demonstration and scale. This work co-creates benefit to all stakeholders through value propositions that increase energy access, energy security, and economic development. The same mindset is applied to industries including food and beverage, consumer products, and fast moving consumer goods for reductions in water and waste as part of a broader vision for increasing resource circularity. Dr. Johnson directs 70 people at ASU, and mentors early and mid-career professionals to amplify the enjoyment and impact of their careers. 

Before joining ASU, Johnson completed product development and business development across 15 countries benefiting 2+ million people worldwide. His globally focused work continues in the Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and Latin America. Outside of the office, Johnson enjoys competing in endurance running and regularly tours the countryside by bicycle with his family of five.

Education

  • PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2012
  • MS, International Development, Iowa State University, 2008
  • MS, Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2005
  • BS, Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2004

Expertise

External Links

Journal Articles

2023

Arnold, D., S. Saha, S. Ngo, C. Roberts, A. Scaglione, N. G. Johnson, S. Peisert and D. Pinney. 2023. Adaptive control of distributed energy resources for distribution grid voltage stability. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems 38(1):129-141. DOI: 10.1109/TPWRS.2022.3157558. (link )

2022

Ahmad, N., M. V. Chester, E. Bondank, M. Arabi, N. G. Johnson and B. L. Ruddell. 2022. A synthetic water distribution network model for urban resilience. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure 7(5):333-347. DOI: 10.1080/23789689.2020.1788230. (link )

Bondank, E., M. V. Chester, A. Michne, N. Ahmad, B. L. Ruddell and N. G. Johnson. 2022. Anticipating water distribution service outages from increasing temperatures. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability 2:045002. DOI: 10.1088/2634-4505/ac8ba3. (link )

Shananda Saha, S., A. Scaglione, R. Ramakrishna and N. G. Johnson. 2022. Distribution systems AC state estimation via sparse AMI data using graphic signal processing. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid 13(5):3636-3649. DOI: 10.1109/TSG.2022.3176298. (link )

2021

Budama, V. K., N. G. Johnson, I. Ermanoski and E. B. Stechel. 2021. Techno-economic analysis of thermochemical water-splitting system for Co-production of hydrogen and electricity. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 46(2):1656-`670. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.10.060. (link )

Gorman, B., M. Lanzarini-Lopes, N. G. Johnson, J. E. Miller and E. B. Stechel. 2021. Techno-economic analysis of a concentrating solar power plant using redox-active metal oxides as heat transfer fluid and storage media. Frontiers in Energy Research 9. DOI: 10.3389/fenrg.2021.734288. (link )

Saha, S., D. Arnold, A. Scaglione, E. Schweitzer, C. Roberts, S. Peisert and N. G. Johnson. 2021. Lyapunov stability of smart inverters using linearized distflow approximation. IET Renewal Power Generation 15(1):114-126. DOI: 10.1049/rpg2.12009. (link )

Saha, S., N. Ravi, K. Hreinsson, J. Baek, A. Scaglione and N. G. Johnson. 2021. A secure distributed ledger for transactive energy: The Electron Volt Exchange (EVE) blockchain. Applied Energy 282 (Part A)(Jan):116208. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116208. (link )

2020

Janko, S. and N. G. Johnson. 2020. Reputation-based competitive pricing negotiation and power trading for grid-connected microgrid networks. Applied Energy 277(Nov):115598. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115598. (link )

Nelson, J. R. and N. G. Johnson. 2020. Model predictive control of microgrids for real-time ancillary service market participation. Applied Energy 269(Jul):114963. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114963. (link )

Nelson, J., N. G. Johnson, K. Fahy and T. A. Hansen. 2020. Statistical development of microgrid resilience during islanding operations. Applied Energy 279(Dec):115724. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115724. (link )

Schweitzer, E., S. Saha, A. Scaglione, N. G. Johnson and D. Arnold. 2020. Lossy DistFLow formulation for single and multiphae radial feeders. IEEE Transaction on Power Systems 35(3):1758-1768. DOI: 10.1109/TPWRS.2019.2954453. (link )

2019

Nelson, J., N. G. Johnson, P. T. Chinimilli and W. Zhang. 2019. Residential cooling using separated and coupled precooling and thermal energy storage strategies. Applied Energy 252(Oct):113414. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113414. (link )

2018

Budama, V. K., N. G. Johnson, A. H. McDaniel, I. Ermanoski and E. B. Stechel. 2018. Thermodynamic development and design of a concentrating solar thermochemical water-splitting process for co-production of hydrogen and electricity. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 43(37):17,574-17,587. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.07.151. (link )

Janko, S. A. and N. G. Johnson. 2018. Scalable multi-agent microgrid negotiations for a transactive energy market. Appled Energy 229(Nov):715-727. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.08.026. (link )

McComb, C., N. G. Johnson, P. S. Santaeufemia, B. T. Gorman, B. Kolste, A. Mobley and K. Shimada. 2018. Multi-objective optimization and scenario-based robustness analysis of the MoneyMaker Hip Pump. Development Engineering 3:23-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.deveng.2018.01.001. (link )

Nelson, J., N. G. Johnson, P. Doron and E. B. Stechel. 2018. Thermodynamic modeling of solarized microturbine for combined heat and power applications. Applied Energy 212(Feb):592-606. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.12.015. (link )

2017

Burillo, D., M. V. Chester, B. Ruddell and N. Johnson. 2017. Electricity demand planning forecasts should consider climate non-stationarity to maintain reserve margins during heat waves. Applied Energy 206(Nov):267-277. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.141. (link )

2016

Bartos, M., M. V. Chester, N. G. Johnson, B. Gorman, D. Eisenberg, I. Linkov and M. E. Bates. 2016. Impacts of rising air temperatures on electric transmission ampacity and peak electricity load in the United States. Environmental Research Letters 11(11):114008. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114008. (link )

Janko, S. A., M. R. Arnold and N. G. Johnson. 2016. Implications of high-penetration renewables for ratepayers and utilities in the residential solar photovoltaic (PV) market. Applied Energy 180(Oct):17-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.041. (link )

Vignarooban, K., X. Chu, K. Chimatapu, P. Ganeshram, S. Pollat, N. G. Johnson, A. Razdan, D. S. Pelley and A. M. Kannan. 2016. State of health determination of sealed lead acid batteries under various operating conditions. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 18(Dec):134-139. DOI: 10.1016/j.seta.2016.10.007. (link )

2015

Johnson, N. G. and K. M. Bryden. 2015. Field-based safety guidelines for solid fuel household cookstoves in developing countries. Energy for Sustainable Development 25(April):56-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2015.01.002. (link )

Miller, C. A., C. Altamirano-Allende, N. Johnson and M. Agyemang. 2015. The social value of mid-scale energy in Africa: Redefining value and redesigning energy to reduce poverty. Energy Research & Social Science 5(January):67-69. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2014.12.013. (link )

2013

Johnson, N. G. and K. M. Bryden. 2013. Clearing the air over cookstoves. Demand 1(1):8-13.

2012

Johnson, N. G. and K. M. Bryden. 2012. Energy supply and use in a rural West African village. Energy 43(1):283-292. DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2012.04.028. (link )

Johnson, N. G. and K. M. Bryden. 2012. Factors affecting fuelwood consumption in household cookstoves in an isolated rural West African village. Energy 46(1):310-321. DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2012.08.019. (link )

Book Chapters

2014

Diekman, S., D. Pope, H. Falk, M. Ballesteros, M. Dherani, N. Bruce, D. Meddings, N. G. Johnson and M. Bryden. 2014. Burns, scalds and poisoning. WHO Indoor Air Quality Guidelines: Household Fuel Consumption. World Health Organization.

Conference Papers

2020

Roberts, C., S. Ngo, A. Milesi, S. Peisert, D. Arnold, S. Shananda Saha, A. Scaglione, N. G. Johnson, A. Kocheturov and D. Fradkin. 2020. Deep reinforcement learning for DER cyber-attack mitigation. 2020 IEEE International Conference on Communications, Control, and Computing Technologies for Smart Grids (SmartGridComm). Tempe, AZ. (link )

Shananda Saha, S., C. Gorog, A. Moser, A. Scaglione and N. G. Johnson. 2020. Integrating hardware security into a blockchain-based transactive energy platform. 2021 North American Power Symposium. (link )

van Hove, E., C. Van Cleve, A. Mobley, S. Janko, A. Plum, A. Zamudio, J. Schmaltz, J. Nollette, J. Hampton and N. G. Johnson. 2020. Rapidly deployable containterized medical clinic for refugee settings. 2020 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). Seattle, WA. (link )

2019

Saha, S., E. Schweitzer, A. Scaglione and N. G. Johnson. 2019. A framework for generating synthetic distribution feeders using OpenStreetMap. Pp. 1-8 2019 North American Power Symposium (NAPS). Wichita, KS. (link )

2017

Janko, S. and N. G. Johnson. 2017. Design of an agent-based technique for controlling interconnected distributed energy resource transactions. Proceedings of the ASME 2017 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Volume 2A: 43rd Design Automation Conference. ASME 2017 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Cleveland, OH. (link )

2016

Janko, S., S. Atkinson and N. G. Johnson. 2016. Design and fabrication of a containerized micro-grid for disaster relief and off-grid applications. Proceedings of the ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Volume 2A: 42nd Design Automation Conference.. ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Charlotte, NC. (link )

Lanzarini-Lopes, M., N. G. Johnson, J. E. Miller and E. B. Stechel. 2016. Concentrating solar power systems with advanced thermal energy storage for emerging markets. Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). 2016 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). Seattle, WA. (link )

Miller, J. E., A. Ambrosini, S. M. Babiniec, E. N. Coker, C. K. Ho, H. Al-Ansary, S. M. Jeter, P. G. Loutzenhiser, N. G. Johnson and E. B. Stechel. 2016. High performance reduction/oxidation metal oxides for thermochemical energy storage (PROMOTES). Proceedings of the ASME 2016 10th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2016 Power Conference and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. Volume 1: Biofuels, Hydrogen, Syngas, and Alternate Fuels; CHP and Hybrid Power and Energy Systems; Concentrating Solar Power; Energy Storage; Environmental, Economic, and Policy Considerations of Advanced Energy Systems; Geothermal, Ocean, and Emerging Energy Technologies; Photovoltaics; Posters; Solar Chemistry; Sustainable Building Energy Systems; Sustainable Infrastructure and Transportation; Thermodynamic Analysis of Energy Systems; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies. ASME 2016 10th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2016 Power Conference and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. Charlotte, NC. (link )

Shananda Saha, S., S. Janko, N. G. Johnson, R. Podmore, A. Riaud and R. Larsen. 2016. A universal charge controller for integrating distributed energy resources. Proceedings of 2016 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). 2016 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). (link )

2015

Agyemang, M. and N. G. Johnson. 2015. Development of biomass energy technologies and business models for southern Africa. Proceedings of the 2015 ASME International Design Engineering and Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. 2015 ASME International Design Engineering and Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Boston, MA.

Gorman, B., N. G. Johnson, J. E. Miller and E. B. Stechel. 2015. Thermodynamic investigation of concentrating solar power with thermochemical storage. Proceedings of the ASME 2015 9th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2015 Power Conference, the ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, and the ASME 2015 Nuclear Forum. ASME 2015 9th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2015 Power Conference, the ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, and the ASME 2015 Nuclear Forum. San Diego, CA. (link )

Janko, S. A., B. T. Gorman, U. P. Singh and N. G. Johnson. 2015. High penetration residential solar photovoltaics and the effect of dust storms on system net load. Proceedings of the 2015 ASME International Design Engineering and Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. 2015 ASME International Design Engineering and Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Boston, MA.

Reilly, K. M., M. T. Birner and N. G. Johnson. 2015. Measuring air quality using wireless self-powered devices. Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference. 2015 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference. Seattle, Washington.

2014

Carberry, A., N. G. Johnson and M. Henderson. 2014. A practice-then-apply scaffolding approach to engineering design education. Pp. 1-3 Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE Frontiers in Educaiton Conference (FIE). 2014 IEEE Frontiers in Educaiton Conference (FIE). Madrid. (link )

Johnson, N. G. and M. Granato. 2014. Single cell battery charger for portable electronic devices in developing countries. Pp. V02AT03A048 Proceedings of ASME 2014 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. 40th Design Automation Conference. (link )

McComb, C., P. S. Santaeufemia, N. G. Johnson and K. Shimada. 2014. Identifying technical and economic improvements to the MoneyMaker Hip pump through multi-objective optimization. Pp. 338-344 Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). 2014 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). San Jose, CA. (link )

Santaeufemia, P. S., N. G. Johnson, C. McComb and K. Shimada. 2014. Improving irrigation in remote areas: Multi-objective optimization or a treadle pump. Pp. V02AT03A039 Proceedings of the ASME 2014 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. 40th Design Automation Conference. Buffalo, NY. (link )

2013

Johnson, N. G. and K. M. Bryden. 2013. Establishing consumer need and preference for design of village cooking stoves. ASME Proceedings: 39th Design Automation Conference. ASME 2013 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Portland, OR. (link )

Johnson, N. G., J. W. Glassmire and P. D. Lilienthal. 2013. Techno-economic design of off-grid domestic lighting solutions using HOMER. ASME Proceedings: 39th Design Automation Conference. ASME 2013 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Portland, OR. (link )

2012

Johnson, N. G. and K. M. Bryden. 2012. The impact of cookstove adoption and replacement on fuelwood savings. Proceedings of Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2012 IEEE. Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2012 IEEE. Seattle, Washington. (link )

Johnson, N. G., J. W. Glassmire and P. D. Lilienthal. 2012. Comparing power system architectures for domestic lighting in isolated rural villages with HOMER. Pp. 375 - 380 Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2012 IEEE . Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2012 IEEE . Seattle, WA. (link )

2011

Bryden, K. M. and N. G. Johnson. 2011. Understanding rural village energy needs and design constraints. ASME Proceedings: 37th Design Automation Conference. ASME 2011 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Washington, D.C.. (link )

Johnson, N. G., P. Lilienthal and T. Schoechle. 2011. Modeling distributed premises-based renewables integration using HOMER. Proceedings of Grid - Interop 2011. Grid - Interop 2011: Implementing Interoperability. Phoenix. Arizona. (link )

2006

Ashlock, D. A., K. M. Bryden and N. G. Johnson. 2006. Evolutionary Voronoi image segmentation. Proceedings of the 2006 Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering Conference. 2006 Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering Conference. Rolla, Missouri.

Ashlock, D. A., K. M. Bryden and N. G. Johnson. 2006. Evolvable threaded controllers for a multi-agent grid robot task. Proceedings of the 2006 Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering Conference. 2006 Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering Conference. Rolla, Missouri. (link )

Johnson, N. G., A. Hallam, S. Conway and M. Bryden. 2006. Sustainable and market-based analyses of cooking technologies in developing countries. Pp. 207-214 Proceedings of ASME 2006 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. ASME 2006 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Chicago, IL. (link )

Johnson, N. G., A. Hallem, S. Conway and M. Bryden. 2006. Sustainable and market-based analyses of cooking technologies in developing countries. ASME Proceedings: Technology and Society. ASME 2006 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Chicago, Illinois. (link )

Johnson, N. G., B. Karthikeyan, D. A. Ashlock and K. M. Bryden. 2006. AMoEBA image segmentation: Modeling of individual Voronoi tessellations. Pp. 2127-2133 Proceedings of 2006 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. 2006 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. Vancouver, British Columbia. (link )

Johnson, N. G., Y. Lu, R. Mazur, J. Han and K. M. Bryden. 2006. Community leadership for sustainability of bio-renewable cooking technologies in rural China. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Environmental Enhancement and Sustainable Development. 3rd International Conference on Environmental Enhancement and Sustainable Development. Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.

2005

Johnson, N. G., M. Bryden and A. Xiao. 2005. Risk analysis and safety evaluation of biomass cookstoves. Proceedings of the ASME 2005 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. ASME 2005 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Orlando, Florida. (link )