How many cameras do you carry in your pocket? Cameras in smartphones, tablets, laptops, automobiles, medical devices, and many other applications are almost universally based on the CMOS image sensor technology. The science and engineering behind this technology, as well as the unexpected social issues that have arisen, will be discussed. A possible next-generation technology, the Quanta Image Sensor, developed at Dartmouth will also be introduced. Stepping back a bit, we will look at the process of discovery, invention, innovation, and startup spinoffs in academia, including Dartmouth’s support for this activity in technology transfer and entrepreneurial thinking.

Dr. Fossum is best known for the invention of the CMOS image sensor “camera-on-a-chip” used in billions of cameras each year. He joined Dartmouth in 2010 and currently serves as Director of Thayer’s PhD Innovation Program and as Dartmouth’s Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer. Honors include the Queen Elizabeth Prize, induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and election to the National Academy of Engineering. Fossum co-founded Photobit Corp, and recently with his students, Gigajot to commercialize their photon-counting image-sensor technology.