Paul I. Lyness

Paul I. Lyness, who was born in Kansas, served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 until 1947. He served on board the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV-11) from 1943 to 1944 as an ensign in the Communications Department. He was a plank owner, a member of Intrepid's first crew. Lyness worked closely with Intrepid's first commanding officer, Captain Thomas Sprague. After leaving the ship, he served as a flag lieutenant to Sprague, who was promoted to admiral. He also worked in the Naval Communication Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. In 1948, Lyness was assigned to temporary extended training service duty with the Ninth Naval District Reserve Electronic Warfare Program Office at Great Lakes, Illinois.

After his time in the U.S. Navy, Lyness earned his PhD from the University of Iowa. He worked as a professor of journalism at that university. He later headed his own company in marketing and advertising research, specializing in measuring the effectiveness of advertising.