Willis Harman was a prolific author and researcher of alternative futures and humanistic psychology. He was President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, which he joined at the invitation of Edgar Mitchell in 1977. Willis helped them to help them in 'expanding knowledge of the nature and potentials of the mind' and applying that knowledge to the advancement of health and well-being for humankind and the planet. In March of 1990, he concluded his ten-year term as a Regent of the University of California. He was Emeritus Professor of Engineering-Economic Systems at Stanford University and for sixteen years was Senior Social Scientist at SRI International in Menlo Park, California. Harman received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington and an MS in Physics and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He taught for several years at the University of Florida before joining the Stanford faculty in 1952. He was a Fulbright lecturer on statistical communication theory at the Royal Technical University.

Dr. Harman was author or co-author of a number of books, including: New Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (1994), Creative Work (1990), Global Mind Change (1988), Paths to Peace (1987), Higher Creativity (1984), Changing Images of Man (1982), and An Incomplete Guide to the Future (1976)

Dr. Harman died January 30, 1997