Robert R. Johnson

I have always been fascinated with how everyday people deal with, learn about, and are affected by technology and science. My first book, User-centered Technology: A Rhetorical Theory for Computers and Other Mundane Artifacts (SUNY Press, 1998) delved into the history and impacts of technology in a variety of contexts. It won a "Best Book" national award from the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing and the National Council of Teachers of English in 1999.

Romancing the Atom: Nuclear Infatuation from the Radium Girls to Fukushima, continues my interests in science, technology and human beings. However, my aim in this new book is to a much wider public readership. I tell nonfiction stories of people from all walks of life, as well as several different cultures (Native Americans, Bikini Islanders, Japanese nuclear power plant workers, among others) and how they have been affected by what I call our romance with the atom. This cultural history covers carefully chosen events from over the past 100 years. I was also fortunate enough to publish several interviews with key players in the atomic romance in the book.

I live in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan with my wife, Evie, and our trusty dog and cats (if cats can be "trusty" that is :-). I am a Professor at Michigan Technological University where I teach writing and rhetoric. You can learn more about me and Romancing the Atom at: www.romancingtheatom.com