John J. Harshbarger

John Harshbarger, born in Charleston and reared in Milton, earned degrees in Electrical Engineering (1956) and Mechanical Engineering (1957). He was introduced to engineering design of very early "closed-circuit" (non-broadcast) television equipment during a summer job at General Electric in 1956. This exposure evolved into his major professional pursuit. The lack of standards or common practice for television equipment performance measurement inspired him to give attention to those matters. Mr. Harshbarger founded Visual Information Institute, Inc. (VII), in Xenia, Ohio, located close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The medical and defense industries have, through the years, shown continuing interest in and concern for measurement of video performance.

Through VII, Mr. Harshbarger has provided technical information regarding video tests and measurement, participated in development of various standards through the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and National Association of Photographic Manufacturers (NAPM). He has published various technical papers regarding these subjects.

John Harshbarger is recognized internationally as an authority on matters pertaining to video performance analysis, encompassing cameras, displays, recorders and video processing equipment. At present he is working under contract from the U.S. Air Force for development of equipment for rapid flight line certification of electronics display performance and for Automatic Brightness Control of electronic cockpit instruments to be incorporated into advanced military aircraft now in development.