Alan Johnson
Associate Professor & Associate Department Chair
Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department
Office: G-08C Lehotsky
Phone: 864-656-4390
Email: alanj@clemson.edu
Educational Background
Educational Background
Ph.D. Environmental Toxicology
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville 1988
B.S. Chemistry
Colorado State University 1980
Courses Taught
ENR 1020 - Introduction to Environmental and Natural Resources II
ENR 3120 - Environmental Risks and Society
ENR 4290/6290 - Environmental Law and Policy
ENR 4500/6500 - Conservation Issues
FNR 4990 - Senior Seminar
ETOX 8410 - Ecological Risk Assessment
Profile
Dr. Johnson's research interests include ecological modeling, risk assessment, and science-based environmental policy and decision-making. His teaching focuses on introductory and policy-related courses for undergraduates, and a graduate-level course on ecological risk assessment.
Currently, Dr. Johnson chairs the Departmental Curriculum Committee and serves on Departmental Assessment Committee, the Clemson University Sustainability Commission, and committees overseeing the Sustainability and the Astrobiology minors.
Research Interests
My research interests have encompassed ecological modeling, environmental toxicology and risk assessment, landscape ecology, and environmental policy. Currently, I am particularly focused on the intersection of environmental policy and space policy. Specific topics include:
* conceptual issues in astrobiology
* human artifacts in the night sky
* space colonization and closed ecological life support systems
* wilderness preservation and conservation planning beyond planet Earth
Publications
Johnson A.R. 2022. The art of asking good questions. Clemson (SC): Clemson Cooperative Extension, Land-Grant Press by Clemson Extension; 2022 Mar. LGP 1140. https://lgpress.clemson.edu/publication/the-art-of-asking-good-questions/
Johnson, A.R. 2020. Extending the concept of wilderness beyond planet Earth. Ethics & the Environment 25(1): 69-83.
Johnson, A.R. 2019. Biodiversity requirements for self-sustaining space colonies. Futures 110: 24-27, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2019.02.017
Mhatre, S.S., A. Johnson and M. Wolf. 2015. Presence of Alasmidonta varicosa (Brook Floater) nursery in Turkey Creek, Savannah River basin: New information on brook floater in the Slate belt region of South Carolina, USA. Ellipsaria (newsletter of the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society), Dec 2015, pp. 17-18.
Allen, C.R., D.R. Uden, A.R. Johnson and D. Angeler. 2015. Spatial modeling approaches for understanding and predicting the impacts of invasive alien species on native species and ecosystems. Pages 162-170 in Venette, R.C. (ed.), Pest Risk Modelling and Mapping for Invasive Alien Species. CABI, Oxfordshire, UK.
Johnson, A.R. 2012. Avoiding environmental catastrophes: varieties of principled precaution. Ecology and Society 17(3): 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-04827-170309
Johnson, A.R. and S.J. Turner. 2010. Relevance of spatial and temporal scales to ecological risk assessment. In: L.A. Kapustka and W.G. Landis (eds.), Environmental Risk Assessment and Management from a Landscape Perspective. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, USA. pp.55-74.