James T. Russell (born 1931 in Bremerton, Washington) is an American inventor. He earned a BA in physics from Reed College in Portland in 1953. He joined General Electric's nearby labs in Richland, Washington, where he initiated many types of experimental instrumentation. He designed and built the first electron beam welder. In 1965, Russell joined the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of Battelle Memorial Institute in Richland. There, in 1965, Russell invented the overall concept of optical digital recording and playback. The earliest patents by Russell, US 3,501,586, and 3,795,902 were filed in 1966, and 1969. respectively. He built prototypes, and the first was operating in 1973. In 1973, 1974, 1975 his first invention viewed by about 100 companies, including Philips and Sony engineers, and more than 1500 descriptive brochures were sent out to various interested parties. The concept was picked up by many technical and media magazines beginning in 1972. It is debatable whether Russell's concepts, patents, prototypes, and literature instigated and in some measure guided the optical digital revolution. Early optical recording technology, which forms the physical basis of videodisc, CD and DVD technology, was first published/filed by Dr. David Paul Gregg in 1958 and Philips researchers, Kramer and Compaan, in 1969. Russell's optical digital inventions were available publicly from 1970. In 2000, Russell received The Vollum Award from Reed College. As of 2004, Russell was doing consulting from an in-home lab, in Bellevue, Washington. Physical details of the early Russell patents Major features of the early Russell patents: The preferred embodiment of the scanning mechanism is awkward since the disc is not rotating but fixed. A scanning mirror with which the light is deflected is attached to a rotating shaft. The entire disc or oblong sheet to be read is illuminated by a large playback light source at the back of the transparent plate instead by focused laser light in reflective mode. There is no objective lens for reading the data. Dynamic track or focus servos are absent. The patent specification mentions the use of a protective layer(s) or coating to prevent scratching during handling, but the layer does not offer significant benefits, as its task is merely to protect. Fingerprints and scratches will obscure the data read. In a CD, on the other hand, where a focused laser beam is used in conjunction with a protective layer at the reading side of the disc, scratches and fingerprints