Barney (Rob) Johnston

At Johns Hopkins, Barney “Rob” Johnston is a lecturer in the MS in Intelligence Analysis program. A computational social scientist specializing in business process optimization, innovation management, and high-risk decision-making, Johnston is the chief scientist at Johnston Analytics.

Johnston’s research has focused on the intersection of technology, social science, and group performance in high-risk decision making. The former deputy director of globalization and modernization at the Central Intelligence Agency, he also served as chief of the business process improvement group, founder and chief of the lessons learned program, the director of the lessons learned office at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and as a research scientist in the office of the chief scientist at the CIA.

A lecturer in artificial intelligence, national security, and research methods, Johnston is a distinguished visiting scholar at North Carolina State University and a senior advisor to several technology start-ups, risk management practices, and supply-chain organizations.

Johnston holds a PhD in Applied and Educational Anthropology from the University of Houston, a MS in Adult Education from Drake University, and a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Liberal Arts from the State University of New York at Albany.