Dr. William L. Johnson is a distinguished Materials Scientist and the Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology. He received his B.A. in physics from Hamilton College in 1970 and his Ph.D. in applied physics from Caltech in 1975. After two years at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center from 1975 to 1977, he joined the Caltech faculty in 1977 as Assistant Professor of Materials Science. He progressed through the ranks to become Associate Professor from 1980 to 1984, Professor from 1984 to 1989, and ultimately the Mettler Professor from 1989 to 2019. In 2019, he transitioned to emeritus status, continuing his scholarly contributions while reflecting his distinguished career at one of the world's premier research institutions.
Professor Johnson's pioneering research revolutionized the field of metallic glasses with his 1993 discovery of bulk metallic glasses, documented in his seminal paper with Peker in Applied Physics Letters. His earlier work in the mid 1980s with Ricardo Schwarz on solid-state amorphization laid the foundation for decades of fruitful research in non-equilibrium materials. His research portfolio includes the first studies of superconductivity in metallic glasses and pioneering investigations of crystal to glass transformations, significantly advancing the understanding of non-equilibrium thermodynamic systems. These breakthroughs led to practical applications, with Johnson holding over 25 patents and co-founding Liquidmetal Technologies to commercialize bulk metallic glass alloys for products ranging from golf club heads to electronic device casings. With more than 230 scientific publications and contributions to seven books, his work has established fundamental principles that continue to guide materials science research worldwide.
Professor Johnson's influence extends beyond his laboratory through his service as an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Physics and Applied Physics Letters, and as a principal editor of the MRS Journal of Material Science. He has mentored over 65 Ph.D. students during his tenure at Caltech, many of whom have become faculty members at major research universities or leaders in industrial and government research laboratories. His expertise has been sought by numerous prestigious organizations, including the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the National Academy of Engineering, for which he has served on advisory panels for over two decades. Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2007, he received the TMS/AIME Hume Rothery Award in 1995 and the MRS Medal for his experimental contributions to materials science. As an emeritus professor, Johnson continues to influence the field through his foundational work on metallic glasses and non-equilibrium materials, which remains highly relevant to current research and technological applications.
