Johnson is originally from south India. He came to Cornell University for his Doctoral studies in Mechanical Engineering. There he primarily worked on how turbulence drives rain formation. After finishing his PhD in 2019, he joined prof. Juan De Pablo's group.
Johnson’s research interests lie in theoretical modelling and simulation of fundamental problems. His focus has been on ion transport in complex charged nanopores, such as Janus membranes. Johnson has performed detailed comparison with Molecular dynamics simulations to pinpoint the accuracy and deficiencies of existing continuum models. He has created a new mean-field model to more accurately capture the underlying physics. Beyond the nanoscale, he is actively working on hysteresis and dynamics of the very large swelling behavior observed in hydrogels.