CV
Kevin E. Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
Director School of Undergraduate Research
Pacific University
2043 College Way
Forest Grove, OR 97116
Education
B.S. Chemistry 1983 with Departmental Honors and Distinction, Stanford University
(Including overseas studies in Berlin.) Richard Zare and James Collman advisors.
M.S. Chemistry 1987 University of Washington
Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, 1991 University of Washington, Thomas Engel thesis advisor. Thesis Title "The study of oxidation and oxide desorption on silicon (100) using scanning tunneling microscopy"
Post Doctoral Visiting Scientist, IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA. Topic: Surface structure studies of metal on metal epitaxy and metal oxidation using Scanning tunneling microscopy. Shirley Chiang and Robert Wilson advisors. 1992-1993
Industry Employment
Intel Corporation, Oregon. Process Engineer for Silicon Materials 1983-1985
Teaching
Graduate Teaching Assistant for Physical Chemistry Laboratory and General Chemistry Lecture. University of Washington Chemistry Department. 1985-1987
Instructor, Preparatory Chemistry. University of Washington, Summer 1990
Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry, Goucher College 1993-1994
Assistant 1994-2000, then Associate 2000-2006, then Full Professor 2006-present Physical Chemistry, Pacific University
Courses Taught:
· General Chemistry I and II, Lecture and Laboratories.
Lectures delivered using guided-inquiry pedagogy. I was one of the principal developers at Pacific of new course materials for delivery of general chemistry using guided inquiry. I also developed and piloted a research-based component of the general chemistry laboratory and incorporated the use of computer technology into laboratory coursework at Pacific.
· Physical Chemistry I and II, Lecture and Laboratory
I developed project-based laboratory work.
· Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry, Lecture and Laboratory (one-semester survey course) I developed materials for a guided-inquiry delivery of course content.
· Chemistry for Nonscientists (Liberal Arts Chemistry course)
· Special Topics in Chemistry, including FT-NMR theory and practice, Surface Chemistry, and Computational Chemistry
· Second Semester First-Year Seminar (1996). Topic: Natural Resources in the Pacific Northwest
· First Year Seminar 2019 & 2021 Theme: Global Warming / Climate Change: Examining what it means to believe versus know.
Faculty Administrative Contributions
Member 1995-1999, and Chair 1999-2000 College of Arts and Sciences Standards and Advising Committee
Member of College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Steering Committee 1999-2000
Member College of Arts and Sciences Assessment Committee 2002-2004
Member 2002-2003, and Chair 2003-2005 University Budget Committee
Chemistry Department Chair 2003-2007
Member, Pacific University Diversity Steering Committee 2006-2008
Co-Chair of the University Faculty 2005-2007
University Faculty Senator 2007-2011 and Senate Chair 2009-2010
Director of Undergraduate Research 2018-present
Academic Administration
Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Director for the School of Natural Sciences, Pacific University 2011-2018.
Research Accomplishments
Undergraduate research at Stanford University: Synthesis and characterization of metal porphyrins. Advisor Prof. J.P. Collman. 1981-1983
Research Internship at Max-Plank-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching bei München, Germany. Laser studies of molecular beams in ultra-high vacuum. Research Director H. Walter, Winter 1983
Graduate Student Research Assistant and Doctoral Candidate, University of Washington Chemistry Department. Thesis Advisor Prof. Thomas Engel. 1985-1990
Undergraduate Research Mentor, Pacific University Chemistry Department, 1994 to present
· I have supervised 55 undergraduate researchers in my teaching career, 22 of whom completed an undergraduate thesis. Sixteen of my advisees have since completed a Ph.D. at universities including UC Berkeley, Caltech, Penn State, University of Nebraska, and University of Washington; three are currently enrolled in Ph.D. programs in Computational Chemistry (2), Biochemistry/Biophysics (1).
· My students have presented their research at poster sessions of regional and national meetings of the American Chemical Society, at the regional Murdock Charitable Trust annual undergraduate research conferences, and at the Oregon Academy of Science conferences.
· Research projects include: experimental studies of surface morphology on electrodes and on surfaces modified with self-assembled monolayers containing acid-base functionality using scanning tunneling microscopy and vibrational spectroscopies; computational electronic structure studies of molecules exhibiting nonlinear optical properties; computational studies of and enzyme / substrate kinetics; and computational molecular dynamics studies of surfactants at water / organic interfaces.
Sabbatical at the University of Arizona Chemistry Department. Collaborator Prof. Jeanne Pemberton. Vibrational spectroscopy of self assembled monolayers on metal surfaces. 2001-2002
Sabbatical at the University of Oregon Chemistry Department. Collaborator Prof. Geraldine Richmond. Computational studies of gas adsorption at aqueous interfaces. Fall 2010
Honors and Awards
IBM Graduate Student Fellowship; 1987-88.
Cora Kempter Meyer Award for Teaching Excellence at Pacific University, 2001.
Thomas and Joyce Holce Professor of Science, Pacific University 2002-2005.
Fulbright Academic Administrator Seminar, Germany Fall 2018
Research Grants
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Chemistry Faculty Grant; Awarded July 1993. ($10,000) Research Start-up Grant. PI
Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Award; May 1995. ($31,968 + $2500 Pacific match) Project Title: Scanning tunneling microscopy investigations of the spatial growth mechanisms for electrochemical deposition of metals on electrodes. PI
Funding from Pacific University:
· Recipient of funding from Murdock Charitable Trust Grants to Pacific University. Summers 1998,1999, 2010-2012. PI
· Pacific University Faculty Development Grants 2001, 2007, 2010, 2022. PI
· Holce Endowed Professorship of Science 2002-2005. PI
· Summer Research with Students funded 2005-2009 PI
National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Grant; Awarded August 2001. ($107,000 + $3000 matching funds). Grant Title: Acquisition of a scanning tunneling and force microscope to enhance undergraduate research opportunities in electrochemistry and biochemistry; I was the PI, Co-investigators, Professors Richard Whiteley and Jodi Paar.
National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Grant; Awarded August 2005. ($138,471 + $15,000 Pacific matching funds). Grant Title: Acquisition of Spectroscopic and Computational Instruments for Undergraduate Education and Research in Nonlinear Optical Materials; I was Co-PI with Principal-Investigator Professor James Butler.
American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund; Awarded October 2013. ($65,000). Grant Title: Between Oil and Water; Computational Modeling of Molecular Structure and Interactions at Surfactant Modified Hydrophobic Interfaces; PI.
Teaching Grants
National Science Foundation – Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement - Adaptation & Implementation; Integrating Computational Problem Solving into General Chemistry Activity Sessions. Awarded 1999. PI.
($27,850 matched one-to-one by Pacific for a total of $55,700)
Fellowship as part of Pacific University’s grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; PI. Enhancing the Learning Environment in General Chemistry Activity Sessions. PIO ($18,500) Awarded 1999-2000.
Renewal of Pacific University Hewlett Grant. The chemistry department was awarded $27,000 from Pacific University’s Hewlett Grant Renewal to continue implementation of the Projects in General Chemistry. PI. 2001-2002.
Ocean Optics Equipment Grant, $3042 for spectroscopic equipment for use in Physical Chemistry Laboratory. PI. Spring 2006.
National Science Foundation – Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM); PI, with co-investigators Professors D. Bregel, L. McCormick, and N. Neudauer. Promoting persistence of underprivileged college students in science and mathematics through engagement of their families. Awarded 2016. ($649,340)
National Science Foundation – Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. Principal Investigator: Kevin Carr; Co-PI: Kevin Johnson, Michael Milhausen, Cecelia Monto Creating Community-Based STEM Teacher Pathways, Awarded 2019. ($1,166,130)
National Science Foundation – Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM); PI, with co-investigators Prof. Kevin Carr (College of Education), Prof. D. Bregel, Prof. Rebecca Concepcion, and Michael Shingle (Advising and Career Services). Supporting Perseverance and Degree Completion in a Diverse Undergraduate STEM Cohort through Scholarships, Peer Academic Coaching, and a Career Education Curriculum. Awarded 2020. ($989,075)
National Science Foundation – Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. Principal Investigator: Kevin Carr; Co-PI: Kevin Johnson. Understanding the Career Trajectories, Effectiveness, and Retention of Noyce Scholars in High-Need Schools in Oregon, Awarded 2022. ($999,370)
Consulting:
L3 Consulting, P.I. Philip H. Lippel (1995-1999)
Collaborated on Phase I and II of a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant to develop an inexpensive STM and accompanying courseware for introductory level physics and chemistry courses. The NSF-SBIR grants supported student research for three summers.
Research Collaborators
Prof. Jeanne Pemberton, University of Arizona Chemistry Department
Prof. Eugene Urnezius, University of Portland Chemistry Department
Prof. Jeffrey Fitzgerald, United States Naval Academy Chemistry Department
Prof. James Butler, Pacific University Physics Department
Prof. Geraldine Richmond, University of Oregon Chemistry Department
Reviewing
Journal of Chemical Education
Journal of Physical Chemistry B and C
Non-scientist Chemistry Texts and General Chemistry Texts
National Science Foundation
Research Corporation
External reviewer for Chemistry Department at The College of Idaho (Spring 2023)
Professional Memberships
American Chemical Society
The Oregon Academy of Sciences (I served as president 2015-16)
Council on Undergraduate Research
Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honors Society
Selected Presentations
* Pacific Undergraduate Coauthor
Structural studies of the decomposition and desorption of ultrathin oxide layers on Si(100); Invited; Canadian Chemical Conference, June 1992, Edmonton, Alberta Canada.
Also presented at: American Chemical Society Spring Meeting; San Francisco, California, May 1992; and Pacific Northwest Chapter American Vacuum Society Surface Science Symposium; Vancouver, Washington, September 1991 (with P.K. Wu, M. Sander, and T. Engel).
Growth and morphology of partial and multilayer Fe thin films on Cu(100) and the effect of adsorbed gases studied by scanning tunneling microscopy; American Vacuum Society National Symposium; Chicago, Illinois, November 1992 (with D.D. Chambliss, R.J. Wilson, and S. Chiang).
Growth and morphology of metal on metal epitaxy and the effect of adsorbed gases studied by scanning tunneling microscopy; Invited, University of Guelph and University of Western Ontario (London); Ontario, Canada, November 1992 (with D.D. Chambliss, R.J. Wilson, and S. Chiang).
Effects of adsorption site and surface stress on ordered structures of oxygen adsorbed on W(110); American Physical Society Meeting; Seattle, Washington, March 1993 (with R.J. Wilson and S. Chiang).
Integrating molecular modeling and computational techniques into physical chemistry lecture and laboratory. Talk at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education held at Clemson University, South Carolina, 4-8 August 1996.
Investigating Hydrogen Bonding: A Project Oriented Physical-Chemistry Laboratory Experiment. Talk at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education held at University of Waterloo, Ontario Canada, 10-13 August 1998.
Projects in General Chemistry: Putting Theory into Practice. Talk at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education held at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI 30 July to 3 August 2000.
Electrolyte Influence on Lithium Ion Batteries: SEI Formation and Damage to Graphite Anodes. KE. Johnson and Amanda Moore* Poster presented at the Sigma XI Forum and Annual Meeting in Raleigh, NC; November 2001,
Electrolyte Influence on Lithium Ion Batteries: Semi Empirical Modeling of the Ethylene Carbonate Reduction Pathway. K.E. Johnson and Amanda Moore* Poster presented at the Gordon Conference on Electrochemistry in Ventura, CA; January 2002.
Implementation of model research projects in the general chemistry laboratory. Talk presented at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education held at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA 28-31 July 2002.
Surface vibrational spectroscopy of nonaqueous electrolytes under potential control. K.E. Johnson, Amanda Moore*, Domenic J. Tiani, Shinobu Tsuruta, and Jeanne Pemberton. Poster presentation at The National American Chemical Society Meeting in Orlando, FL; April 2002.
Interrogating molecular interactions at liquid/solid interfaces. Talk presented at Lady Doak College, Madurai India; January 2004.
Measurement and Modeling of Non-Linear Optical Properties. Talk presented at the University of Hyderabad School of Chemistry, Hyderabad India; January 2007
Nonlinear optical properties of ruthenium tetraazophyrin and phthalyocyanine derivatives investigated using time-dependent density functional computational methods. O.K. Hite*, K.E. Johnson. Poster presented at the 66th Northwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, June 2011 Portland OR.
Modeling Chemistry from One to One Thousand Molecules. Talk presented at the University of Portland Chemistry Department, February 2012
Computational Modeling of Surfactant Molecules at the Water/Organic Interface. L. Holte*, B. Kuran*, and K.E. Johnson. Poster presented at the Oregon Academy of Science Annual Meeting, March 2013, Salem OR.
Enzymatic Tetris – A Cytochrome P450 Docking Study. A. Pilkerton*, J.A. Palumbo*, and K.E. Johnson. Poster presented at the Oregon Academy of Science Annual Meeting, March 2013, Salem OR.
Elbow room: How Surfactant proportions modify interfacial properties. J.A. Palumbo* and K.E. Johnson. Posters presented at Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference, November 2014; Portland Section American Chemical Society Undergraduate Poster Session November 2014, Oregon Academy of Sciences, Linfield College February 2015; National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Denver CO March 2015
Computational modeling of sodium laurate surfactant in the presence of aqueous divalent cations at the oil-water interface. Kjersti Chippendale* and K.E. Johnson. Poster presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco CA March 2016
Computational investigation of the thermal stability of protein-small molecule complexes. Kory Melton*, Nathan Olowo*, and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentations at Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference, Vancouver, WA 2017; and the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, LA 2018.
Investigating the thermal-stability of bacteria based alpha-amylases with molecular dynamics Nathan Olowo*, and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, LA 2018.
Molecular modeling of amphipathic molecules at an organic/water interface in the presence of divalent cations. T. Brad Martin Jr.* and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, LA 2018.
Investigating Properties of Large Molecular Systems using Molecular Dynamics: Kinetics of Substrate Interactions with Cytochrome P450 and Dynamic Equilibrium of Surfactant Molecules at an Interface. Asela Chandrasinghe* and Shawn Opfer* oral presenters, K.E. Johnson. Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference, Vancouver, WA 2018
Crowding or accommodation: How a surfactants structure and orientation affect an organic-water interface. Shawn Opfer*, Kevin E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Orlando FL, April 2019
Paths to quitting: Substrate trajectories and energetics of cytochrome P450 2A6. Asela Chandrasinghe* and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Orlando FL, April 2019. Oral presentations at the Oregon Academy of Sciences, Linfield College February 2019; and Northwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Portland State University. June 2019
Pacific Scholarships in Mathematics and Sciences: Improving Outcomes Through Engaging with Students' Families. Kevin E. Johnson, Dawn Bregel, Liesl McCormick, Nancy Neudauer. Poster presentation at the AAAS 2019 S-STEM Symposium. Washington DC. September 2019
Substrate egress pathway of CYP2A6 and CYP2A6*23. Kim Cuong Tran* and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference, Vancouver, WA November 2019
Interface roughness analysis: Effect of surfactants at the water/oil interfaces. Aubrey Kimmel (Math major)* and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference, Vancouver, WA November 2019
Using fractal dimensions and 2D discrete Fourier transforms to analyze interfaces with surfactants. Aubrey Kimmel (Math major)* and K.E. Johnson. Poster presentation at the 22nd Annual Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. January 2020