Mortar Net's Gary R. Johnson Named 2014 IEEE Fellow

Gary R. Johnson, president of Mortar Net Solutions Inc. in Burns Harbor, Ind., and former chairman, president and CEO of Sawyer Research Products Inc. (now Sawyer Technical Materials) in Eastlake, Ohio, has been named an IEEE Fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers effective Jan. 1, 2014.

Johnson is being recognized for “leadership in growth and manufacturing processes of quartz.” His research team created products and processes that improved the performance of many everyday electronic products relying on precise timekeeping and frequency control, such as mobile telephones, computing hardware, global positioning system enabled systems, and sensors for advanced inertial control systems.

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed 1/10th of 1 percent of the total voting membership. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

Johnson first worked in frequency control at the former CTS Knights and joined Sawyer, a producer of quartz crystal material, in 1979. He held marketing and technical executive positions before becoming president in 1990 and chairman and CEO in 1993. Under his leadership, the technical team achieved breakthroughs in both the science of growing quartz and its high volume production. They accurately described the cause of critical crystal defects and discovered a new explanation of their formation. Their work resulted in significant improvements to the manufacturing processes that made improved single crystal quartz widely available.

Johnson holds BS Electrical Engineering and MS Industrial Administration degrees from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. He was a member of the Technical Program Committee of the International Frequency Control Symposium from 1989 to 2009, including four years as its chair. He was General Chairman of this symposium four times and has held other leadership posts in IEEE.

Since 2001 he has chaired International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee 49 (piezoelectric, dielectric and electrostatic devices and associated materials for frequency control, selection and detection). More than 80 international standards have been developed and issued during his tenure.

The IEEE is a professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000 members in 160 countries, the IEEE addresses a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed more than 900 active industry standards. The association also sponsors or co-sponsors nearly 400 international technical conferences each year.