TPT March 2022

I NDUS T RY

Obituary: Dr John Rober tson of InfoSight Dr JOHN A Robertson was the founder, chairman CEO, and heart and soul of InfoSight Corporation in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was the epitome of the innovator, constantly searching for and creating unique ways to make the world a better place. His creativity knew no bounds and his honours include holding 56 patents, being president of the Electrostatic Society of America, a Fellow in the Instrument Society of America, named to the AIDC100 hall of fame, a graduate of the Harvard Business School OPM Program, and recognised as Entrepreneur of the Year twice. He was especially proud of Barbara, his wife of 46 years, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Mr Robinson grew up in Blue Island, Illinois, US and was chosen as one of 39 students to learn “new math.” After graduation he attended DeVry Institute and earned a degree in electronics.

Along the way he became a licensed amateur radio operator with the callsign W8JUD, and later W8JR, maintaining a lifelong friendship with childhood friend and fellow amateur K9PMV. Mr Robertson worked in a number of jobs including repairing TVs, fixing Heath Kit projects after their owners had given up, as a station engineer for a broadcast station in Chicago, and as a technician at Fermi Labs. John later earned a PhD in electrical engineering and physics from the University of Illinois, starting his classes at Navy Pier and finishing his research in Champagne. Upon graduation in 1969, Mr Robertson was recruited by Mead Corporation Central Research in Chillicothe, turning down an offer from Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard to work in Silicon Valley. While at Mead he received his first ten patents and became recognised as a world expert in high-speed ink jet technology. John took an extended leave of absence to attempt sailing around the world in a 42ft sloop that he painstakingly rebuilt. He returned periodically to do some consulting, but eventually accepted that seasickness had won. With his special knack of seeing opportunity in every adventure, it is reported that an agency of the US government was able to put the wooden hulled boat to good use. Mr Robertson returned to land in Chillicothe where he founded Telesis as an invention-on-demand laboratory that produced as many as 50 unique products per year. Early patents involved data entry terminals and electrostatic length measurement devices. Some of his more fun projects included controlling electrostatic discharge from hovering helicopters and electronic tuners for steel guitars. Eventually Telesis found its niche focusing on product marking and traceability. In 1993 Mr Robertson sold Telesis and, along with 13 employees who loved custom design, founded InfoSight. In 2018 Mr Robertson achieved his dream of leaving a legacy for the employees of Infosight by completing the transition to being 100 per cent employee owned.

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Infosight www.infosight.com

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MARCH 2022