Dr. Aaron Johnson

Biography

Aaron W. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. With a strong commitment to bridging the gap between engineering education research and practice, his current research utilizes qualitative methods to understand how students engage in productive beginnings in professional practices. He focuses on areas such as engineering judgment and macroethical reasoning while promoting responsive pedagogy. Aaron has mentored both undergraduate and graduate students, empowering them to make significant improvements in undergraduate engineering programs. He earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and both his S.M. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His Ph.D. research involved human-in-the-loop experiments and mathematical modeling to study the effects of control mode transitions on human pilots. Prior to rejoining the University of Michigan, Aaron worked as an Instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder and held postdoctoral fellow positions at Tufts University and the University of Michigan. He has received several teaching awards, including the 2021 Sullivan-Carlson Innovation Education Award from CU Boulder and consecutive Silver Shaft Awards for Undergraduate Teaching from U-M. Aaron actively participates in the American Society for Engineering Education and was awarded the 2020 Apprentice Faculty Grant for promising engineering education scholars.

Research Interests

Awards