Paul Johnson, Ph.D.

Field: Plants, Soils, and Climate, Water Resources
Areas of Focus: Plant Breeding, Turfgrass Management, Urban Water Conservation

Expertise

• Turfgrass Management
• Plant Breeding and Improvement
• Urban Water Conservation

Bio

Dr. Paul G. Johnson is a professor and Department Head in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate at Utah State University. His professional life has been devoted to researching and teaching about the amazing little plants we call turfgrass. Paul studied turfgrass management at Iowa State University and later worked as an assistant superintendent in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied plant breeding and horticulture at the University of Minnesota for a doctorate degree. There, his work centered on the biology and ecology of Poa annua — annual bluegrass. Paul then joined the buffalograss breeding project at the University of Nebraska as a post-doctoral associate. In 1998, he became an assistant professor at Utah State University where he taught turf grass management and genetics, with a research and teaching focus on water conservation and turfgrass adaptation to the arid climate of the west. Since 2014, Paul has served as department head of the Plants, Soils, and Climate Department.