Scholar, Company Battle Over Patent

A dispute between a Cambridge scholar and General Electric Co. (GE) over who first thought of producing a synthetic diamond continues to spark media attention after nearly two years of controversy and will be spotlighted on the newsmagazine program "60 Minutes" this Sunday.

The diamond, which substantially improves heat conduction and thus has many important applications for lasers, optics, electronics and communication, has pitted the scholar, Russell Seitz, and Harvard professors against the corporate giant.

"We are doing a story this week... of the battle between Russell Seitz and General Electric," said Jeff Fager, producer of the segment for 60 Minutes.

The conflict has also drawn coverage from The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquire, The Chicago Tribune and Newsweek magazine.

The controversy erupted when Seitz, an associate of the Olin Center for Strategic Studies at Harvard's Center of International Affairs, claimed in July of 1990 that GE had failed to credit him with the idea of an isotopically pure diamond that conducts heat 50 percent better than natural diamonds.

Seitz said he first "suggested the idea of making diamond crystals out of just one kind of atom and thus improving heat conduction" in 1972, while working as a research associate with Nobel prize-winning Professor Nicolaas Bloembergen at Harvard's Gordon McKay Laboratory.

Seitz said he received a patent for his idea in 1975 and proposed manufacturing the diamond, known as carbon 12, to GE in 1987. Scientists at the GE research laboratories responded at the time with lukewarm interest, he said.

"I went there with Star Wars research officials and suggested they make this stuff," said Seitz, who is currently conducting research in arms control and proliferation at the Olin Center.

But in July of 1990, GE scientists including Dr. Thomas Anthony, a Harvard PhD, announced that they had developed,tested and planned to market the isotopically purecarbon 12 diamond. GE did not credit the originalidea to Seitz.

"I hold the US patent that explicitly teacheshow [to make carbon 12]," says Seitz. "[GE] justup and ran off with it." The "60 Minutes" programwill report that Seitz's patent is cited in the GEpatent, Seitz said.

Seitz, who studied for several years at Harvardwithout taking a degree, has won support fromprominent physicists in the U.S. and at Harvard.

Bloembergen, along with former Physicsdepartment chair and Mallinckrodt Professor ofPhysics Richard Wilson and former presidentialscience adviser George Keyworth, co-signed aletter in the fall of 1990 to the GE Board ofDirectors which urged them to credit andcompensate Seitz for his idea.

"GE pretended he didn't do something when hedid," Wilson said. "It's not appropriate to ignore[giving credit for] an idea someone already had."

GE did not respond officially to the letter andmaintains that Seitz's influence in carbon 12development technology has been marginal.

"Mr. Seitz's assertions that he played a rolein GE are groundless," said Peter Van Avery,director of communications at the GE research anddevelopment center in Schenectady, N.Y. "It shouldbe noted that the scientific foundation for the'isotope effect' was established byothers--including predictions about its impact ondiamonds--well before he came on to the scene. Theinitial paper in the field was published by aSoviet scientist in 1942.

"I hold the US patent that explicitly teacheshow [to make carbon 12]," says Seitz. "[GE] justup and ran off with it." The "60 Minutes" programwill report that Seitz's patent is cited in the GEpatent, Seitz said.

Seitz, who studied for several years at Harvardwithout taking a degree, has won support fromprominent physicists in the U.S. and at Harvard.

Bloembergen, along with former Physicsdepartment chair and Mallinckrodt Professor ofPhysics Richard Wilson and former presidentialscience adviser George Keyworth, co-signed aletter in the fall of 1990 to the GE Board ofDirectors which urged them to credit andcompensate Seitz for his idea.

"GE pretended he didn't do something when hedid," Wilson said. "It's not appropriate to ignore[giving credit for] an idea someone already had."

GE did not respond officially to the letter andmaintains that Seitz's influence in carbon 12development technology has been marginal.

"Mr. Seitz's assertions that he played a rolein GE are groundless," said Peter Van Avery,director of communications at the GE research anddevelopment center in Schenectady, N.Y. "It shouldbe noted that the scientific foundation for the'isotope effect' was established byothers--including predictions about its impact ondiamonds--well before he came on to the scene. Theinitial paper in the field was published by aSoviet scientist in 1942.