KATY, TX, UNITED STATES, May 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — William E. Harris is a well-regarded engineer and an innovative, brilliant thinker who comes from a long line of brilliant and innovative thinkers. His father worked for years at General Motors in Tonawanda New York and later was part of a team-building spacecraft. His siblings were mostly doctors and while Mr. Harris began his studies as a pre-med student, working to pay for his advanced education put him on a different track. He was among the top finishing students recruited by companies like IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Exxon.
William Harris worked with HP for a while and then moved on to other industrial titans like Fluor, Bechtel, and Stone & Webster. He’s also done freelance work for small and little-known entities, and bigger projects for defense contractors, the details which he cannot speak about due to NDA’s (non-disclosure agreements.) All he’ll say is he helped to develop technologies for the US government. While in college, he worked for the University of Houston Physics Department where he designed and built printed circuit boards. The lab’s purpose was to find a rust proofing material but accidentally discovered high temperature superconductivity. Many of his engineering positions were in the Oil and Gas and Chemical industries, where he created control systems for the process engineers and plants. He’d use instruments like flow rate, pressure, temperature, level and temperature, and even build those mammoth plant control rooms filled with computer monitors and keyboards.
“There are a lot of experts involved in creating a processing plant. Civil Engineers handle the foundation work. Piping Engineers handle the piping systems, Mechanical Engineers handle many things like steel structures, compressors and pumps. Process Control Systems Engineers design the controls for the Process Engineers that design the chemistry needed for the process. These functions mesh together and if one thing changes, it can disturb the rest of the plant. I had a deep understanding of how they all fit together, how it operates, and how to monitor and adjust things—in order to ensure safety and production goals are met from my previous work experience as a plant operator.”
In addition to determining pieces of the puzzle, for instance instruments and analyzers, Mr. Haris would write the program software and assemble the computerized control system at the plant. He stayed involved full circle, overseeing installation and doing testing and plant start up. Then he would move on to a new project in a new location. While it was challenging and fulfilling, it did not leave time for spouses, family, or a proper vacation.
The contributions of this top engineer earned recognition by employers, early Silicon Valley pioneers, and even professional industry authorities. He received the Vincent Bendix award from IEEE (The Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers) and was featured in their Spectrum Magazine. More recently he was profiled in Who’s Who.
One reason the work was so challenging was its basic nature. Physics, chemical engineering and electrical engineering he says, are some of the hardest programs of study you’ll ever come across. And things you can’t actually see, or feel, are hard to measure, and chemicals certainly fit that criteria.
Often Harris notes, you will dedicate a lot of time to something that doesn’t pan out and discover something different in the course of it. Stumbling upon an answer can lead to a new invention for example superconductivity. But one discovery can build on the next.
In his interview with Jim, Mr. Harris will talk about the ups and downs and discoveries throughout his nearly 40 year career in engineering. He will talk about life lessons he learned from family and coworkers. One of those was when his dad taught him to listen to a car engine and diagnose problems. This led to his hobby, restoring classic muscle cars, and tweaking engine parts for greater performance or environmental compliance. He was also involved in the founding of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky.
While sometimes called a Nerd in early life, Mr. Harris has a warmth and humor that come through and will make for a very informative and entertaining podcast. You can learn more about his engineering studies and life achievements by reading his Marquis Who’s Who profile or his LinkedIn page.
Close Up Radio recently featured topnotch engineer William E. Harris in an interview with Jim Masers on Monday May 18th at 12pm Eastern
Listen to the Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-up-radio-spotlights-seasoned-engineer-and/id1785721253?i=1000768700894
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-close-up-radio-242020413/episode/close-up-radio-spotlights-seasoned-engineer-and-innovator-william-e-harris-334206659
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xXfvkrBuOG4OX9TsjSUao
For more information about William E Harris visit www.linkedin.com/in/bill-harris-55457718
Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
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