Rate My Professor Terry Johnson

Johnson's excellence in teaching earned him Berkeley's 2010 Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching and the prestigious 2013 Distinguished Teaching Award, the first for a Bioengineering lecturer. Department chair Kevin Healy described him as 'an exemplary teacher whose enthusiasm, dedication and talent are an inspiration to both students and faculty,' highlighting his indispensable leadership in curriculum evolution. In research, Johnson's interests focused on synthetic biology and tissue engineering; he is an inventor on two licensed patents, one in tissue engineering and another in synthetic biology. He co-authored the popular science book How to Defeat Your Own Clone: And Other Tips for Surviving the Biotech Revolution, published to engage broader audiences with biotechnological advancements. Johnson delivered keynote speeches for Upward Bound and Berkeley Engineers and Mentors, served as lead judge for Berkeley’s Pioneers in Engineering high-school robotics competition, participated in high school outreach tours at the Center for Tissue Bioengineering, and advised the UC Berkeley iGEM synthetic biology team. His impact extends through public engagement and mentorship shaping future biologists and engineers.