Eric Fossum Named 2026 Recipient of IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal
Dec 17, 2025
Eric R. Fossum, the John H. Krehbiel Sr. Professor for Emerging Technologies and vice provost for entrepreneurship and technology transfer at Dartmouth, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal for the "invention, development, and commercialization of the CMOS image sensor" that revolutionized digital imaging around the world.
Fossum joins a distinguished group of some of the world's most renowned engineers and scientists selected by IEEE to receive the organization's highest honors for their contributions to technology, society, and the engineering profession.
The prize is awarded annually by IEEE, the largest technical professional organization in the world dedicated to advancing technology for humanity.
Eric Fossum and the team that invented the CMOS image sensor, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Fossum led the team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that developed the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor during the early 1990s, an innovation that dramatically miniaturized cameras used in space missions onto a single chip. The "camera on a chip" sensor subsequently made digital photography and imaging widely accessible worldwide.
Today, the CMOS sensor is integrated in nearly every smartphone, as well as in well as countless other devices including webcams, medical imaging devices, and automobile cameras.
Fossum will formally receive the medal at a ceremony in New York City in April 2026. Named in honor "father of Japanese microelectronics," the Nishizawa prize also comes with an honorarium, which Fossum plans to donate to STEM-related charities.
Fossum co-founded Photobit Corporation to commercialize the CMOS sensor, serving as CEO, before the company was acquired by Micron. He also served as CEO of Siimpel Corporation, which developed MEMS-based camera modules with autofocus and shutter functions for cell phones. More recently, he served as chairman of Gigajot Technology Inc., which he co-founded with two former Dartmouth PhD students to develop and commercialize quanta image sensors, which they developed at Dartmouth.
Fossum joined Dartmouth's engineering faculty in 2010 and helped launch the PhD Innovation Program, the nation's first doctoral level program focused on research translation and entrepreneurship.
Fossum is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011, and to date, holds 185 US patents. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, an IEEE life fellow, an Optica fellow, and a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Throughout his career, Fossum has earned numerous accolades for his work, including the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in 2017, the Emmy for technology and engineering from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2021, and most recently the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Biden in 2025.
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