Blake N. Johnson

Blake N. Johnson is a Professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. He holds a B.S. (2008) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Ph.D. (2013) in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University, and completed a postdoc at Princeton University (2013-2015). His research focuses on smart manufacturing, biosensing, and autonomous materials science, with notable contributions in 3D bioprinting and theory-guided machine learning for biosensor optimization. He has received prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER Award (2022) and SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award (2020).

Key professional roles include:

• Professor, Virginia Tech (2025–present)
• Associate Professor, Virginia Tech (2022–2025)
• Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech (2015–2022)

Research interests span biosensors, biomanufacturing, and machine learning-driven material discovery. His lab develops innovative solutions for medical diagnostics, tissue regeneration, and sustainable materials. He teaches courses such as ISE 5984 (Additive Manufacturing) and ISE 2204 (Manufacturing Processes).

Notable achievements include pioneering work on 3D-printed anatomical nerve regeneration pathways and developing high-throughput platforms for hydrogel characterization. Media highlights include coverage of his NSF CAREER Award and breakthroughs in biosensor reliability.