Alexander Russell, FRS (15 July 1861 – 14 January 1943) was a Scottish electrical engineer and educator. He was born in Ayr, Scotland and educated at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

(gaining an MA in Mathematics and Physics) and

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

. He was later (in 1924) awarded a doctorate. After teaching mathematics at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

and the

Oxford Military College Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876 to 1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxfo ...

, he took a post at

Faraday House Faraday House Electrical Engineering College was created to train engineers in power engineering, power generation and distribution. It was set up at a time before engineering was widely taught at universities, founded as an adjunct to a commerc ...

, in

Southampton Row The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station, via Holborn, Bloomsbury, Euston and Somers Town. Kingsway ...

, London, which had been newly founded to train electrical engineers. In 1909 he became the Principal, a position he held until 1939. There he pioneered the

sandwich course A sandwich degree, or sandwich course, is an academic degree or higher education course (also known as tertiary education) involving practical work experience in addition to academic study. The work experience is often referred as an industrial pla ...

, whereby students had a year or so in the classroom and then experienced work in industry before returning to the classroom. He also wrote a number of articles for the journal ''Electrician'' which he later published in book form. He acted as President or vice-President of a number of societies, including the presidency of the Physical Society in 1922–24 and of the

Institute of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

in 1923. In 1924 he was also elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, his citation acknowledging that he was "''Distinguished for his knowledge of alternating current phenomena, inductances and electrostatics.''" In 1940 he was awarded the

Faraday Medal The Faraday Medal is a top international medal awarded by the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) (previously called the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE)). As one of the world's most prestigious awards in engineering, it ...

of the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

. He died in 1943 after a long illness. He had married Edith, the daughter of H.B.Ince, MP, and had a son and a daughter.

References

1861 births 1943 deaths People from Ayr Alumni of the University of Glasgow History of higher education in the United Kingdom Scottish electrical engineers Fellows of the Royal Society {{Scotland-engineer-stub