Chuck and Jen Johnson Support Student Excellence

“MIT is cutting edge and has the ability to help shape the world,” says Chuck Johnson (CE ’55), founder of Visual Numerics, now part of Rogue Wave Software. Chuck and his wife, Jen, have stayed connected to MIT, generously supporting the math department with two important funds that recognize outstanding student work.

In addition to their respect for the Institute, the Johnsons share a “soft spot for MIT and the Boston-Cambridge area,” Chuck says. “We were from the Midwest and met here.”

When the Johnsons met, Chuck was at MIT earning a degree in Civil Engineering— known back then as Building, Engineering, and Construction—and Jen was attending a small college, now part of Simmons College. The two now live in Racine, Wisconsin.

Mathematics has always been a big interest to Chuck. His father and grandfather were in the construction business so he decided to major in civil engineering at MIT; while here, he took many mathematics classes and got involved in computing. During Chuck’s undergraduate years, he recalls being surrounded by mathematicians, including Norbert Wiener, who taught at MIT at the time.

In the 1950s the Project Whirlwind Computer took place, and Chuck’s interest in computing turned into a whole career in scientific computing. “I like to think of mathematics as a hobby of mine,” says Chuck. “I belong to a few mathematical societies. I do math crossword puzzles and read math books for pleasure, and my company was in the mathematics business.”

Chuck’s brother, Millard W. Johnson (PhD ’57), encouraged Chuck’s interest in math. The brothers were at MIT at the same time and even roomed together. “My brother shared with me Courant and Robbins’ What is Mathematics? referred to as the Bible for people interested in mathematics, and Gamow’s One Two Three...Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science,” he says.

Millard, who passed away this year, was a professor emeritus in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Today, Chuck’s interest is primarily in number theory. He likes Carl Friedrich Gauss’ quote, “Mathematics is the queen of the sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics.”

Chuck and Jen have established two funds in the math department: the Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson Prize for an outstanding paper accepted for publication in a major journal, and the C.W. (1955) and J.C. Johnson Fund, which supports graduate students in the Department of Mathematics with preference for those with partially funded fellowships from outside agencies. Both funds are a great way to recognize and support outstanding students in mathematics.

Chuck and Jen’s philosophy for philanthropy is to concentrate on a few organizations in order to make an impact. They feel that by giving to MIT they’re helping to advance science and engineering. A fellow MIT alumnus once said to Chuck that by giving he is actually the one who is receiving, and Chuck says that sometimes he thinks he might be more excited about the gift than the recipient. Jen and Chuck’s concentration of support has been to MIT, the Mayo Clinic, and the Racine Zoo. “With these gifts, we cover education, medical and recreation. It has made us happy to support those areas.”

For information on making a gift to the Mathematics Department, please contact Senior Director of Development for Mathematics Erin McGrath Tribble at or 617-452-2807.

This was originally published in the 2009 Integral.