Dr. Jeremy Johnson likes to travel for the same reason he likes science: he loves to learn about the many fascinating things in the world around us.
That love to learn has led Johnson and his family around the world and eventually back to BYU, where he is now in his first semester as a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Johnson earned his undergraduate degree from BYU, where he researched with Dr. Eric Sevy and was first introduced to laser spectroscopy, using light to study matter and energy. He graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and then headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for his doctoral studies. While there, he and his wife, Rochelle, were able to travel together to international research conferences.
“We really like to travel, so when I was a graduate student at MIT and had a few opportunities to go to research conferences abroad, we worked it out so that my wife would come out afterward and we could explore Europe,” he said.
As Johnson earned his doctoral degree in 2011, he and his wife determined that they needed a bigger European adventure. On a particular trip to sightsee and meet with professors about research opportunities, the Johnsons drove into Switzerland and it felt like coming home.
“To me, looking back, that was a spiritual prompting that we should really look into Switzerland,” he said.
He secured a postdoctoral research position at the Paul Scherrer Institute near Zurich. Three years and two children later, the family moved back to Provo after exciting scientific research, travels throughout the continent, and a three-month research opportunity at the Yokohama National University in Japan.
“That feeling I had when we drove into Switzerland—I had that again when I came to interview at BYU. I hadn’t thought that I would necessarily come back here, but things worked together and just worked out, and now I’m super excited to be here and be in the department,” he said. “We’re definitely going to do a lot of cool science here.”
It’s nice not only to return to BYU, but Johnson said his family is happy also to return to the United States.
“It’s also a plus to be back here and understand what everyone is saying,” he said.
Johnson teaches physical chemistry and continues to research spectroscopy. He specializes in terahertz spectroscopy, a relatively new research area that has applications in the study of everything from semiconductors to proteins.
Drawing a parallel between gospel light and scientific light, he said, “In the scriptures there are a lot of symbolic references to light and truth. We use light in our lab to learn more truth about how the world around us works.”