NASELLE Naselle native Glen Johnson, a faculty member at the University of Washington School of Dentistry in Seattle since 1983, recently received the Washington State Dental Association (WSDA) Faculty Award.

The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the school and the WSDA, was presented to Dr. Johnson at the schools annual Honors and Awards ceremony in June.

Dr. Johnson, 66, a professor of restorative dentistry, is director of the schools Division of Dental Materials Science. He has also served as interim chair of the schools Department of Restorative Dentistry. 

  I am appreciative and humbled with this recognition from the WSDA for service to our dental school, students and profession, Dr. Johnson said. It is with some serendipity that I ultimately landed in dental education, and in retrospect, I am one lucky guy to be a part of educating eager and talented young dental students. 

In addition to teaching, Dr. Johnson is a noted dental materials researcher, focusing on laboratory and clinical evaluation of new restorative dental materials and techniques. He has published numerous scientific and clinical articles in peer-reviewed journals, and he frequently gives presentations at scientific and professional meetings. He also has held continuing dental education courses in the United States and abroad. He spent the 2008-09 academic year on sabbatical at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where he served as guest professor in the Department of Prosthodontics (restorative dentistry). 

Dr. Johnson, who still maintains a country home in Naselle, attended public schools there and in Salem, Ore. He earned his bachelors degree in mechanical engineering in 1967 and a dental degree in 1978, both at the UW. Just before assuming a full-time academic position at the UW, he earned a masters degree in dental materials from the University of Michigan.

His parents were Alfred and Ellen Johnson of Naselle. A brother, Alan Johnson and wife Shirley, live in Ilwaco, while his other brother and wife, Dale and Joyce Johnson, reside in Astoria. Dr. Johnson and his wife, Susan, a retired reading specialist for the Lake Washington School District, have three married children and live in Seattle.