Rate My Professor Sarah Johnson

Professor Sarah Johnson is a Professor in the School of Engineering, with a focus on Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where she also serves as Deputy Head of School (Research) since 2023. A University of Newcastle alumna, she earned her Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering with First Class Honours and the University Medal in 2000, followed by a PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2004. Her career trajectory includes Research Fellow at National ICT Australia from 2003 to 2004, Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Australian Research Council from 2004 to 2007, University of Newcastle Research Fellowship from 2007 to 2012, and Future Fellowship from 2012 to 2015. She has been Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computing since 2018. Johnson received the CSIRO postgraduate scholarship, ARC Postgraduate Research Fellowship, Pro Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence in 2007, and NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Engineering & Communications Technologies in 2017.

Her research specializations encompass digital signal processing, information theory, and error correction coding, including Low Density Parity Check codes, iterative error correction codes such as Turbo, LDPC, and Repeat-Accumulate codes. Key areas include secure communications with quantum key distribution, communications for Internet of Things, non-orthogonal multiple access, federated learning over wireless channels, and biomedical signal processing for rehabilitation and brain imaging. Johnson authored the book Iterative Error Correction: Turbo, Low-Density Parity-Check and Repeat-Accumulate Codes (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Selected publications feature 'Data-Driven Low-Complexity Detection in Grant-Free NOMA for IoT' (IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 2024), 'Rate-Convergence Tradeoff of Federated Learning Over Wireless Channels' (IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 2023), and 'Belief Propagation Decoding of Primitive Rateless Codes' (IEEE Communications Letters, 2026). Her research is funded by eight ARC Discovery grants, an ARC Linkage Project, and industry collaborations, including with Quintessence Laboratories on quantum-secured communications. Johnson co-founded HunterWiSE to support women in STEM, serves on IEEE conference organising and technical program committees, and is Series Editor for Internet of Things in IEEE Communications Magazine. She coordinates and lectures courses including ELEC4740 Internet of Things and ELEC1710 Digital and Computer Electronics 1.