Campus remembers Computer Science Professor Johnson

Computer Science Professor StevenJohnson diedat age 61 on Sept. 7. He died in his sleep according to his wife, Marianne Johnson. Johnson was a professor in the computer science division and genuinely wanted to help his students, according to his colleague of 10 years, Professor John Huh.

“He just wanted to help the students. Sometimes he could be hard on students because he demanded much, but at the same time he taught them a lot so they could be prepared,” said Huh.

Huh would tell those who had never met Johnson that “he was a gentleman…he was just a nice colleague.”

“He was a real good professor in not only his knowledge but also his moral standard. It’s a very high standard.” said Lucy Ma, an assistant for the PCC computer science lab who had known him for nearly 10 years.

Professor Vahid Zardoost, a colleague and professor in the computer science division said, “Every time I saw Steve I found him very affectionate and very kind. I have always heard great things from my students about Steven being a very dedicated and very intelligent professor. He will be missed a lot.”

An expert in the computer science field, Johnson had a master’s degree in computer science classes. He had a total of four degrees, two of which were graduate degrees.

Johnson was responsible for the administration of the network that is used in computer science, computer studies, according to Sassan Barkeshli, a computer science teacher who took over one of Johnson’s classes. Barkeshli was also a former student of Johnson’s and was a close colleague and friend.

“Even though we’re all peers he definitely had a leadership role in this department,” Barkeshli said.

Johnson contributed in many forms to his division and to the advancement of PCC’s technological advancement.

“He was always fighting for benefits for our department,” said Ma.

Beyond his contributions to the school, Johnson was also said to have a further relationship with his students that strengthened his role as a professor.

He would help his students once they needed to get out into the real world and put their education and skills to use, according to Barkeshli.

“Once they got outside of the classroom he would hook them up. I think what you would probably hear from everyone is he would try to show them the next step. There are kids that he basically put into business. He’s done that much with a lot of people.”

“Ubiquitous, multi-faceted in anything,” said his widow, Marianne Johnson as her gleaming eyes showed her eagerness to speak of all his talents.

According to his personal MySpace page,Johnson’s self-written biography says he had “done a myriad of jobs bumming around the country looking for self enlightenment.”

He was skilled in many areas and caught people off guard with his talents.

“He was a champion chess player, dancer, musician, computer scientist, teacher, the greatest nerd even, a gamer,” said Barkeshli.

His wife described him as a man who could not take criticism well, therefore everything he did had to be perfect.

“I feel he was a very passionate teacher. He always shared his experience about his life and things he knew about computer science. I feel that I lost a good teacher,” said Charles Gao, one of Johnson’s students majoring in computer science.

“I was really surprised because it was so sudden,” said Debra Synott, one of Johnson’s students who already graduated with a degree in mathematics. According to various students, Johnson seemed active the week before and there was no reason to suspect his death.

“I couldn’t believe it because the weekday before Labor Day he was so excited for the barbecue he was going to have with his wife,” said Ma.