Harrington was born on December 24, 1925, in
Buffalo, New York. He started majoring in electrical engineering in 1943 at
Syracuse University; his studies were interrupted in the following year by
World War II. During this time, he served as an instructor under the
Electronics Training Program at the U.S. Naval
Radio Materiel School in
Dearborn, Michigan, while working as an
electronics technician. He completed his studies after the war, receiving B.S. and M.S. degrees in 1948 and 1950, respectively. Briefly remaining at Syracuse University as a research assistant and instructor, he started his doctoral studies under
Victor H. Rumsey at
Ohio State University, receiving his PhD in 1952. Harrington returned to Syracuse University following his doctoral studies, working there as a professor until his retirement in 1994. Following his retirement, he briefly worked as a
visiting professor at
University of Arizona. During his tenure at Syracuse University, he has worked on research projects for the
U.S. Army Signal Corps,
Office of Naval Research,
General Electric and the
U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He has also held visiting professorship positions at
University of Illinois in between 1959 and 1960,
University of California, Berkeley in 1964 and the
Technical University of Denmark in 1969. Harrington is a recipient of
IEEE Centennial Medal,
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Distinguished Achievement Award and
IEEE Electromagnetics Award in 1984, 1989 and 2000, respectively. In 2014, he was awarded the
Benjamin Franklin Medal in electrical engineering for his contributions to the study of electromagnetics. He currently resides in
Wheaton, Illinois with his daughter. ==Research==