Jesse Russell


Jesse Eugene Russell is an American inventor. He was trained as an electrical engineer at Tennessee State University and Stanford University, and worked in the field of wireless communication for over 20 years. He holds patents and continues to invent and innovate in the emerging area of next generation broadband wireless networks, technologies and services, which is frequently referred to as 4G. Russell was inducted into the United States' National Academy of Engineering during the Clinton Administration for his contribution to the field of Wireless Communication. He pioneered the field of digital cellular communication in the 1980s through the use of high power linear amplification and low bit rate voice encoding technologies and received a patent in 1992 for his work in the area of digital cellular base station design.
Russell is currently Chairman and CEO of incNETWORKS, Inc., a New Jersey-based Broadband Wireless Communications Company focused on 4th Generation Broadband Wireless Communications Technologies, Networks and Services.

Early life and education

Jesse Eugene Russell was born April 26, 1948, in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States of America into a large African-American family with eight brothers and two sisters. He is the son of Charles Albert Russell and Mary Louise Russell. His early childhood was spent in economically and socially deprived neighborhoods within the inner-city of Nashville. During his early years, he focused on athletics and not academics. A key turning point in Russell's life was the opportunity to attend a summer educational program at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Russell participated in this educational opportunity and began his academic and intellectual pursuits. Russell continued his education at Tennessee State University where he focused on electrical engineering. A Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering was conferred in 1972 from Tennessee State University. As a top honor student in the School of Engineering, Russell became the first African American to be hired directly from a Historically Black Colleges and Universities by AT&T Bell Laboratories and subsequently became the first African-American in the United States to be selected as the Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Young Electrical Engineer of the Year in 1980. Russell continued his academic pursuits and obtained his Master of Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, in 1973.

Innovations and patents

Russell's innovations in wireless communication systems, architectures and technology related to radio access networks, end user devices and in-building wireless communication systems have fundamentally changed the wireless communication industry. Known for his patented invention of the digital cellular base station, that enabled new digital services for cellular mobile users, Russell continues to innovate in the emerging next generation broadband wireless communication technologies, products, networks, and services as well as "Mobile Cloud Computing" which are shaping the forefront of the 4G Communication Industry.
Over 100 patents granted or in process, thirty years of experience in Research and Development at prominent institutions and pioneering technologies such as the invention of the first digital cellular base station and fiber optic microcell utilizing high power linear amplifier technology and digital modulation techniques, which allowed the beginning of the digital cellular evolution, digital cellular standards, personal communications networks as well as the emergence of "Mobile Cloud Computing" within 4G broadband wireless networks are only some of the accomplishments that have forged new directions for the wireless communication industry. Listed below are significant patents.
Patent No.Description
7,437,158Advanced multi-network client device for wideband multimedia access to private and public wireless networks
7,120,139Broadband cable telephony network architecture IP ITN network architecture reference model
5,724,665Wireless communication base station
5,655,003Wireless terminal having digital radio processing with automatic communication system selection capability
5,608,780Wireless communication system having base units which extracts channel and setup information from nearby base units
5,257,397Mobile data telephone
5,084,869Base station for mobile radio telecommunications systems

Professional accomplishments

Russell joined Bell Labs as a Member of the Technical Staff. He was one of the first designers to embrace the use of microprocessor in the design of equipment for use in the telecommunication network for monitoring and tracking calling patterns within the Bell System Network. The system was referred to as the traffic data collection systems, which using a microprocessor-based portable data terminals for interfacing to electro-mechanical switching systems.
Russell served in the following positions; Director of the AT&T Cellular Telecommunication Laboratory, Vice President of Advanced Wireless Technology Laboratory, Chief Technical Officer for the Network Wireless Systems Business Unit, Chief Wireless Architect of AT&T, and Vice President of Advanced Communications Technologies for AT&T Laboratories.
As the Director of the AT&T Cellular Telecommunication Laboratory, this Bell Labs Group formally managed by Russell is credited with the invention of cellular radio technology and received the United States' Medal of Technology for the invention.
Russell continued to develop his expertise as he established and led an Innovation Center focused on Applied Research in Advanced Communication Technologies that enabling AT&T to extend its existing portfolio of services and expand into new businesses and markets. As a key decision maker in the selection and development of emerging communications technologies, Russell's efforts lead to the rapid realization of new access network platforms that enable AT&T to expand its broadband communication network options. The applications of these access technologies were one of the keys in expanding AT&T's interest in re-building it local access services business.

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