Harman was born in Seattle, Washington on August 16, 1918. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1939 with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, he worked for General Electric and then joined the Navy as an electrical officer. He was stationed on the USS Maryland but was ashore near by Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After the end of World War II, Harman received his M.S. in Physics and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. [4] He has three daughters, one son, many grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He had a rose garden and a swinging horse in his backyard.

Harman taught for several years at the University of Florida before joining the Stanford faculty in 1952.[5] He eventually left Stanford to become a senior social scientist at SRI International where he initiated a futures research program, exploring the national and global future. In this capacity he worked on long-term strategic planning and policy analysis for an assortment of corporations, government agencies, and international organizations. He then served as president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences from 1975 until his death in 1997. During the 1970s, he was appointed a regent of the University of California by then governor Jerry Brown. [6][7][8]