I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics + Computer Science at Lawrence Technological University.

Previously, I was an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University (2015-2019) and a Van Vleck Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2012-2015). I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in 2011 and M.Sc. from the University of Guelph in 2006.

My research and outreach activities related to COVID-19 modeling were recently featured in the LTU College of Arts & Sciences magazine Foundations. My innovations and teaching strategies for Differential Equations have been chronicled in the Course Hero Best Lessons Series.

My research on COVID-19 model is supported by the National Science Foundation (DMS-2213390).

Teaching (Spring 2026)

• MW 9:00-10:50am – MCS 2414: Calculus 3
• MW 11:00am-12:15pm – MCS 2423: Differential Equations
• MW 2:30-3:45pm – MCS 3523: Mathematical Modeling

Research

• Mathematical biology, dynamical systems, stochastic processes
• Mathematical epidemiology, infectious disease/COVID-19 modeling
• Mathematical biochemistry, enzymatic pathways, signal transduction, genetic networks
• Further details and publication list available here

Personal

I was raised in a small farming community Southern Ontario just west of Toronto. My non-academic hobbies include playing baseball, running, playing guitar, writing short stories, and enjoying family time with wife Karen, twin boys, Mason and Austin, and step-children Ryan and Olivia. I am also known to frequent coffee shops and open mics. Despite my Canadian blood, I have never learned to skate.

My brother is Nathaniel Johnston, a fellow mathematician specializing in quantum information theory at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick.