Tuskegee University graduate Lonnie Johnson has been awarded nearly $73 million in royalties from toymaker Hasbro Inc., according to news reports. Johnson Research and Development Co. and founder Lonnie Johnson have been in a royalty dispute with Hasbro since the company filed a claim against the giant toy company for underpaid royalties, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution said.
Johnson holds more than 100 patents in a wide range of innovative technologies, but he is best known as inventor of the popular Super Soaker water gun, which has generated approximately $600 million in sales and has made him a hero to children nationwide.
Before launching his own businesses, Johnson served with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a senior systems engineer on multiple space-based programs, including Galileo, the Cassini Mission to Jupiter, and the Mars Observer. More recently, he has led an advanced technology research and development company that specializes in developing environmental and energy-related products in areas such as heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and control systems. He also owns Excellatron Solid State, LLC, another high-tech company that introduced a multilayer lithium ion battery which represents a major breakthrough in battery technology. read more…
