Howard Johnson (electrical engineer)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Howard Johnson is an electrical engineer
, known for his consulting work and commonly referenced books on the topic of signal integrity
, especially for high speed electronic circuit design.
. As a result of improvements in semiconductor process, faster edge rates of even "low technology" electronic components can be sufficient to make the system effectively high speed and thus subject to havoc caused by unanticipated analog effects.
Johnson was also active in the development of two Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) standards that govern Ethernet
, IEEE 802.3 Fast Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 Gigabit Ethernet.
in Electrical Engineering (1978), Masters
of Electrical Engineering (1979), and PhD
(1982) from Rice University
. His dissertation was titled The design of DFT
algorithms.
Johnson also runs a monthly column at EDN (magazine), entitled Signal Integrity.
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, known for his consulting work and commonly referenced books on the topic of signal integrity
Signal integrity
Signal integrity or SI is a set of measures of the quality of an electrical signal. In digital electronics, a stream of binary values is represented by a voltage waveform. However, digital signals are fundamentally analog in nature, and all signals are subject to effects such as noise,...
, especially for high speed electronic circuit design.
Area of contribution
Johnson has significantly raised awareness of analog effects at work in high speed digital electronic systems. In modern digital systems, it is common for digital designs to be subject to analog effects, even if they operate at a relatively low clock frequency. Circuits operating at lower clock rates can behave as high speed digital systems if there is sufficient high frequency content in the signal edges (when transitioning between digital logic levels) relative to the distance traveled across a printed circuit boardPrinted circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
. As a result of improvements in semiconductor process, faster edge rates of even "low technology" electronic components can be sufficient to make the system effectively high speed and thus subject to havoc caused by unanticipated analog effects.
Johnson was also active in the development of two Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
(IEEE) standards that govern Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
, IEEE 802.3 Fast Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 Gigabit Ethernet.
Educational background
Johnson earned his Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Electrical Engineering (1978), Masters
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
of Electrical Engineering (1979), and PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(1982) from Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. His dissertation was titled The design of DFT
Discrete Fourier transform
In mathematics, the discrete Fourier transform is a specific kind of discrete transform, used in Fourier analysis. It transforms one function into another, which is called the frequency domain representation, or simply the DFT, of the original function...
algorithms.
Books and Publication
Johnson has written three books.- High-Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic
- High-Speed Signal Propagation: Advanced Black Magic
- Fast Ethernet: Dawn of a New Network
Johnson also runs a monthly column at EDN (magazine), entitled Signal Integrity.