Rick Johnson
Duke University B.S. Electrical Engineering '74, Ohio University M.S. Geology '77
I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where I often worked part-time and summers in the family water well drilling and supply business. I studied electrical engineering at Duke University. In the summer of my junior year (1973), I attended a three-week “Hydrology Workshop for Professionals” at Ohio University taught by Dr. Moid Ahmad. Nearly all workshop attendees were oil geologists trying to learn about the water business, and I was the only engineer. Since the math governing groundwater flow was the same as electron flow, I discovered that electrical engineering was the perfect preparation for a career in groundwater hydrology and modeling; and Dr. Ahmad discovered that he wanted an electrical engineer as his Teaching Assistant. I returned to Ohio University after graduating from Duke and received my M.S. in Geology in 1977.
I began my professional career working in water use permitting for a Florida regulatory agency. Not finding that work challenging, I moved to Harza Engineering in Chicago, where I was responsible for using groundwater modeling to evaluate regional impacts of large-scale strip-mining operations in Wyoming. The call to return to Florida came in 1979, from Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. (CDM, now CDM Smith Inc.), where I began a 40-year career that took me all over the world. Working initially as a project manager and technical lead, I manage water resources studies including water well field design/installation, groundwater modeling studies for aquifer safe yield and saltwater intrusion protection, and containment transport evaluation. In 1984 and for the next 15 years, I served as a program manager on multi-hundred-million-dollar hazardous waste contracts for the EPA, DOE, and DOD, as well as remediation contracts for private industry. The next 12 years involved managing nationwide technical groups (environmental, water resources, management consulting). In 2011, I became the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for our Europe/Middle East/Africa Group based in Germany, and ended my career as the COO of the 2,000-person U.S.-based Technical Services Division).
I initially stayed in touch with the Geological Sciences Department and briefly served as an Adjunct Associate Professor in 1992 when I returned to Athens to teach a one-week, one-credit hour course in environmental regulations. At that time, I also funded the Johnson Fellowship, a three-year research grant for hydrology students. I am very pleased and excited to reestablish contact with the department and serve on the Alumni Advisory Board.
Contact Information: