North High Hall of Fame Inductee - 1995 Frank John Bias Class of June, 1937
An electrical and electronic engineer who served a distinguished career in broadcast, cable, television, and motion pictures. Mr. Bias' career in radio engineering extended from the catwhisker/crystal receiver, through short wave radio, AM, FM, and TV broadcasting, cable television, terrestrial microwave communication, and satellite transmission. He became a licensed amateur radio operator at age 15. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa October 1, 1919. He attended the Des Moines Public schools where he was elected to the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools. He entered the Iowa State University at Ames, Iowa in 1937. As an undergraduate, he was elected to honorary societies in engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and scholarship. He graduated in 1941 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. During World War II, he worked at the General Electric Company in Schenectady, NY on radar and radar countermeasures. After the war he worked on television transmitters, moving to Syracuse, NY in 1946, He was a member of the original contingent to move into Electronics Park. Mr. Bias was a specialist in television transmitters many of the units being the highest in power and frequency at the time of their production. From 1953 to 1969 he held various engineering management positions at General Electric, mainly relative to broadcast equipment. In 1970, he became Associate Director of Cable Technology at CBS, Inc. in New York City. Because of a Federal Communications Commission ruling requiring CBS to divest its cable television, he went with the cable television operation (Tele-Vue Systems) in the San Francisco area as Manager of Transmission Systems. He was promoted to Director of Engineering in 1971 and to Vice President of Engineering in 1974. In 1977, the cable television operations of Tele-Vue and others were combined as the Communications Division of Viacom International Inc. Mr. Bias was named the Vice President - Engineering of this operation. In 1979, Mr. Bias was named Vice President - Science and Technology for Viacom International Inc. and moved to its New York City offices. He held this position until 1985 when he retired. He remained as a consultant to Viacom until 1988 when he moved to Syracuse. Mr. Bias was active in many professional societies. He was a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and a life member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and the Society of Broadcast Engineers. He was active on the Engineering Committee of the National Cable Television Association. He received many awards for service to these organizations and the industries. Mr. Bias was a licensed Professional Engineer in the states of New York and California. He was a life member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the New York Society of Professional Engineers in its Central New York Chapter. He was a member of Sigma Xi - the Scientific Research Society. Mr. Bias maintained a summer home in Inlet, NY for many years. He was a member of the Fulton Chain of Lakes Association and the Forth Lake Property Owners' Association, and President and Treasurer of the Neodak Shores Association. Mr. Bias was survived by his wife the former Jean Elinore Kesting (now deceased; 10/14/09), two daughters, Carolyn Claudy of Arroyo Grande, CA and Elaine Alesia of Liverpool, NY, two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Deceased: 08/22/02; Baldwinsville, NY 13027
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