Everett White Harris was born in Carson City, Nevada, in 1903. He has called western Nevada his home throughout his life. In his early years, Dr. Harris became interested in mathematics and engineering; he received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nevada, followed by graduate study and a master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California. His professional career took him to positions with the General Electric Company at Schenectady, New York; Stone and Webster Company at Boston, Massachusetts, and Beaumont, Texas; the United States Navy; and the Nevada State Highway Department. His longest and best-known work was as professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Nevada in Reno, where he taught from 1938 until 1967. Following his retirement, he continued—as professor emeritus—to teach part-time at the university. He also actively followed hobbies in microphotography as a marker of historic trails.

In his memoirs, Dr. Harris was especially enthusiastic in recounting details of his early life in Reno, and in telling some of the background of University of Nevada politics.