Jonathan A. Titus

Jon Titus has regularly contributed magazine articles on electronics and measurement topics to ECN, Test & Measurement World, and Design News magazines. As senior technical editor for ECN, he writes a monthly "Titus on Electronics" column. He contributes a monthly column about electronic-measurements and data-analysis to Design News magazine.

Jon worked as the editorial director at Test & Measurement World magazine for nine years and spent eight years in several other editorial roles, including chief editor, at EDN magazine. Before joining EDN in 1984, Titus was president of the Blacksburg Group, Inc. (Blacksburg, VA) at which he and his colleagues wrote and edited books about computers and electronics and developed electronic hardware for teaching students about computers and electronics.

Titus has had experience designing with microprocessors and microcontrollers and developed several data-acquisition and instrument-control systems. He also has taught computer and microprocessor courses in many parts of the world. Jon (KZ1G) now works from his office in Herriman, UT.

Jon is credited by many people as being the inventor of the first personal computer, the Mark-8, which was featured as a construction project on the cover of Radio-Electronics magazine in July 1974. The computer used an Intel 8008 microprocessor chip--the first 8-bit microprocessor--and it was meant for use by serious electronics hobbyists and experimenters. Jon's original Mark-8 now resides in the Smithsonian Institution and was part of the "Information" Age" display in Washington, DC. In 2002 Jon received a George R. Stibitz Computer & Communications Pioneer Award from the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, MT for his development of the Mark-8 hobbyist computer kit.

Titus' previous books include "The Digital I/O Handbook," "VIC-20 Starter Book," "Commodore 64 Starter Book," TRS-80 Interfacing," volumes 1 and 2, and others.

Titus has three college degrees, a BS from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, all in chemistry. His graduate work focused on electrochemistry and the development of instrument-to-computer electronics and software.