If anyone might have imagined that we would one day be walking around with little boxes in our pockets to communicate worldwide as freely as we do now, it might have been the electrical engineer and inventor, Jesse Eugene Russell. Born into poverty and a large family, Russell was one of ten siblings raised in Nashville Tennessee. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with top honors from Tennessee State University in 1972, and he was the first African American to be hired by AT&T Bell Laboratories right out of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). The following year, he earned his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and went on to revolutionize the communications systems field.
Throughout his career, Russell served in various positions such as the Director of the AT&T Cellular Telecommunication Laboratory, Vice President of Advanced Wireless Technology, and Chief Technical Officer in Bell Labs. During his role as Director in the AT&T Cellular Telecommunication Laboratory, Russell’s group was awarded the United States Medal of Technology for the invention of cellular radio technology. Through his efforts, new platforms for the expansion of broadband communication networks were expedited, these include DSL Access Networks, Power-Line Carrier Access Networks, Cable Access Networks, Satellite Access Networks, and Broadband Wireless Communications Networks,
Russell has various inventions and publications in the communications systems field including wireless communication base stations, broadband cable network architecture, and devices with digital radio processing systems. He also holds dozens of patents under his belt and has many under process. He is the CEO and chairman of his own company, incNETWORKS, Inc., a company based in New Jersey, focusing on the 4th generation Broadband Wireless Communications Technologies, Networks, and Services.