James M. Russell III is an atmospheric scientist who has served as the developer of instrumentation for several NASA probes. He is currently a professor of Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences and co-director of the Center for Atmospheric research at Hampton University. Russell received a BSEE degree from Virginia Tech in 1962. He received an MSEE degree from the University of Virginia in 1966 and a Ph.D. in Aeronomy from the University of Michigan in 1970. Russell led the team that first identified the connection between chlorine and ozone gas depletion.