Jim Slater was educated at North Manchester Grammar School and University College, London. He worked as a BBC transmitter engineer before moving to BBC External Services, a job which took him to various parts of the world. After some time in BBC Engineering Information Department, where he was involved with demonstrations of prototype teletext equipment, and in the transmission of teletext over cable systems, Jim joined the IBA’s Engineering Information Service. He subsequently worked in the IBA Engineering Secretariat, and with the Standards & Technology Group of the Independent Television Commission.

In 1993 he became Principal of Slater Electronic Services, a consultancy company specializing in high technology research, which has been successful in obtaining contracts with a number of leading companies. An experienced project manager, Jim successfully managed a seven-partner European Union funded TIDE project called SATURN, which produced a new generation of ‘smart-cards’ to enable elderly and disabled people to make use of electronic terminals for purposes ranging from cash dispensing to public transport and access to sports and leisure areas. Jim worked as a consultant to the Geneva based Digital Video Broadcasting Project from January 1996 to March 1997, and is currently Project Co-ordinator for the UK Digital Television Group.

He also works as an ‘expert’ for the Commission of the European Communities, carrying out assessment and evaluation work, and acted as rapporteur on the Coordination Board planning the telematics research work to be funded by the CEC during the ‘Fourth Framework’ period.

Having a particular interest in new technologies, he was joint lecturer for the IEE 1980-82 series of Silvanus P Thompson lectures. `The Changing Screen’ lecture drew attention to new developments that are only now coming to fruition, and was presented more than 80 times to audiences throughout the UK, and abroad.

Jim writes and lectures on a wide range of subjects, and has talked to many groups from learned societies, universities, and technical colleges about a range of television engineering topics. He writes and organises engineering training courses tailored to specific audiences.

He writes for technical journals, specializing in explaining complex subjects in a manner that can easily be understood by the layman, and his books `Satellite Broadcasting Systems, planning and design’, `Cable Television Engineering’, and `Modern Television Systems’ have been successful in introducing many to these fascinating subjects. Jim is Managing Editor of Image Technology and Cinema Technology, the journals of the BKSTS, the Moving Image Society, and a Special Correspondent for Screen Digest.

As a member of various national and international standards groups, he is involved in the determination of technical standards for broadcasting, and in the international standardization and harmonization of technical terminology and vocabulary. He has been a member of the Royal Television Society for many years, and as a member of the RTS Engineering Training committee organized and contributed to television and audio engineering courses.