Eric R. Fossum

 

 

 

Expertise:

 

·         Image sensor R&D (CCD, CMOS, QIS).  Primary inventor of CMOS active-pixel image sensor and camera-on-a-chip technology.

·         University education - teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels and student development.  Successful at grants and funding.

·         Executive management of high-tech startup companies from inception to acquisition.  CEO of 2 start-up companies.

·         Government funded R&D leadership and management.  NASA/JPL and SBIR program management.

·         Intellectual property expert consultation for strategic value and infringement. Inventor on over 140 US patents.

 

Education:

 

      1984       Ph.D.     Engineering and Applied Science (EE)               Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

      1980       M.S.       Engineering and Applied Science (AP)              Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

      1979       B.S.        Physics and Engineering                                          Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut

 

Primary Employment:

     

2010-                 Research Professor, Thayer School of Engineering

                              Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire

2008-                 Consultant

                              Samsung Electronics, Semiconductor R&D Center, South Korea

2005-2007        Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

                              Siimpel Corporation, Arcadia & Pasadena, California

2003-2005        Consultant

                              Various organizations, see below.

2002-2003        Senior Micron Fellow

                              Micron Imaging, Micron Technology Inc., Pasadena, California

2001                   Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

                              Photobit Technology Corporation, Pasadena, California

2000                   Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Board

                              Photobit Corporation, Pasadena, California

1996-2000        Chief Scientist / Technology Division Director and Chairman of the Board

                              Photobit Corporation, Pasadena, California

1990-1996        Technical Assistant Section Manager

                              for Image Sensor and Focal Plane Technology

                              Observational Systems Division

                              Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

1989-1990        Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering,

                              Columbia University, New York, New York

1984-1989        Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering,

                              Columbia University, New York, New York

1983                   Acting Instructor

                              Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

198l-1983         Member of the Technical Staff

                              (Summers) Hughes Aircraft Company Missile Systems Group, Canoga Park, California

1979-1984        Graduate Research Assistant

                              Department of Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

1978-1979        Systems Analyst/Programmer

                              (Summers)  American Management Systems, Rosslyn, Virginia

1977-1979        Systems Analyst/Programmer

                              (Part time)  Trinity College, Admissions & Financial Aid Department, Hartford, Connecticut

1973-1977        Systems Analyst/Programmer

                              (Part time)  Calpurnia Associates, Avon, Connecticut

 

Other Concurrent Appointments:

     

2010-                 Founder and Chief Executive Officer

                              Fovius Corporation

2007-                 President

                              International Image Sensor Society (co-founder)

2006-                 Founding Member

                              Active Pixel Associates LLC

2005-2008        Board of Advisors

                              Canesta Corporation, San Jose, CA

2001-                 General Partner

                              Winnibit LP                                      

2001-2007        Adjunct (Full) Professor

                              Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

2001-2001        Director

                              Photobit Corporation and Photobit Technology Corporation

1995-2000        Director and Chairman of the Board

                              Photobit Corporation

1996-1999        Adjunct (Full) Professor

                              Department of Electrical Engineering University of California, Los Angeles California

1994-1996        Senior Research Scientist

                              Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

1990-1994        Adjunct (Associate) Professor

                              Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York

1989-1990        Distinguished Visiting Scientist

                              Jet Propulsion Laboratory

1985-                 Consultant

                              IBM Research (85-90), Kulite Semiconductor (87-88),  JPL (88-90), Lockheed (89), GE (89), Honeywell (90), NATO/AGARD-NDRE (91), Synaptics (91), Photobit (95-96), Jones Day (04), McDermott, Will & Emery (07), Canesta(04, 07), SiWave (04), Forza Silicon (07), Samsung Semiconductor (08-), Weil, Gotshal & Manges (09-10), Wilson-Cook Medical (09), Rambus (10)

 

Awards and Fellowships:

     

2011                   National Inventors Hall of Fame (link)

2010                   Inventor of the Year, New York Intellectual Property Law Association (link)

2009                   IEEE Andrew S. Grove Award (link)

2004                   Royal Photographic Society Progress Medal and Honorary Fellowship (link)

2004                   Trinity College Alumni Achievement Award (link)

2003                   Photographic Society of America Progress Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Photography (link)

1999                   Space Technology Hall of Fame (link)

1998                   Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

1997                   Trinity College Century of Engineering Citation for Scientific and Technical Innovation

1996                   NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal

1996                   NASA Group Achievement Award

1995,2002        NASA Space Act Monetary Award

1992                   JPL Lew Allen Award for Excellence

1989                   Columbia-NCR Stakeholder Partnership Innovation Award

1988-1990        Analog Devices Career Development Award

1986-1990        National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award (link)

1984-1985        IBM Faculty Development Award

1984                   Yale University Henry Prentiss Becton Prize for Excellence in Engineering and Applied Science

1983                   Hughes Aircraft Company Division Invention Award

1981-1984        Howard Hughes Graduate Fellowship

1980-1981        IBM Graduate Fellowship

1979-1980        Yale University Fellowship

1979                   Trinity College Honors in Physics; President's Fellow in Physics; Senior Physics Prize

1970                   Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow

 

Memberships:

 

      Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, Fellow)

 

Professional Activities:

 

      Founder and Organizing Committee

 

2013                   International Image Sensor Workshop (Co-Chair), TBD, USA

2011                   International Image Sensor Workshop, Hokkaido, Japan

2009                   International Image Sensor Workshop, Bergen, Norway

2007                   International Image Sensor Workshop (& Local Arrangements Chair), Ogunquit, Maine USA

2005                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors, Karuizawa, Japan

2003                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors, Bavaria, Germany

2001                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors (Chair), Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

1999                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors, Karuizawa, Japan

1997                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors, Brugge, Belgium

1996                   SPIE Aerospace Sensing/Infrared Imaging - IR Readout Electronics III (Chair), Orlando, Florida, USA

1995                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors (Chair) Dana Point, California, USA

1994                   SPIE Aerospace Sensing/Infrared Imaging - IR Readout Electronics II (Chair), Orlando, Florida, USA

1993                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices and Advanced Image Sensors (Co-Chair), Waterloo, Canada

1992                   SPIE Aerospace Sensing/Infrared Imaging - IR Readout Electronics (Chair), Orlando, Florida, USA

1991                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices (Co-Chair), Waterloo, Canada

1990                   IEEE Workshop on Advanced Solid-State Image Sensors (Chair), Harriman, New York, USA

1986                   IEEE Workshop on Charge-Coupled Devices (Chair), Harriman, New York, USA

 

      Co-Chairman

 

1991                   SPIE Infrared Sensors: Detectors, Electronics and Signal Processing

1990                   SPIE/SPSE Symposium on Electronic Imaging

 

      Editor

 

2009                   Guest Editor-in-Chief, Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices on Solid-State Image Sensors, November 2009

2003                   Guest Editor-in-Chief, Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices on Solid-State Image Sensors, January 2003

1997-1999        Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems

1997                   Guest Editor Special Issue of IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits on the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (Images Sensors and Displays), December 1997

1997                   Guest Editor-in-Chief Special Issue of IEEE Transaction on Electron Devices on Solid-State Image Sensors, October 1997

 

      Program Committees

 

1998                   8th European Symposium on Semiconductor Detectors

1997-1998        IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)

1996                   IEEE/ISSCC Workshop on CMOS Imaging Technology

1994                   International CMOS Camera Workshop

1992                   NASA/SDIO Innovative Long-wavelength  Infrared Detector Workshop

1991-1993        IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM)

                            Detectors, Sensors and Displays Subcommittee ('93 Chair)

1987-1989        IEEE Semiconductor Interface Specialist's Conference (SISC)

 

      Organizer and Instructor

 

1991                   NATO/AGARD/NDRE Short Course on Advanced Image Sensors

1988                   Columbia University MSL Short Course on Charge-Coupled Devices

1986                   IBM-TV Device Microfabrication (a full semester course)

 

      Panels

 

2007                   IEEE Senior Member Selection Panel

1997                   IEEE ISSCC Evening Discussion Session (Moderator)

1996                   DARPA/ETO Wearables in 2005 Workshop

1996                   NASA Origins Technology Workshop              

1996                   IEEE ISSCC Evening Panel Discussion, Photons-to-Bits

1995                   Optoelectronics Industry Dev. Assoc. - Image Sensors Workshop (Chair)

1994                   National Science Foundation  - Optical Science and Engineering Workshop

1994                   SPIE Smart Focal Plane Array Workshop

1992                   NASA Microtechnologies and Appl. to Space Systems Workshop

1991                   NASA Planetary Instruments Workshop (Panel Co-chair)

1991                   IEEE Device Research Symposium - Charge Storage Devices

1991                   NASA AstroTech 21 Workshop (Panel Chair)

1990                   National Academy of Sciences - NSF Graduate Fellowships Selection              

 

      Technical Groups

 

1991-1995        NASA OSAT Sensor Working Group (Code X)

1991-1992        AIAA Sensor Systems Technical Committee

1990-1994        SPIE Electronic Imaging Working Group

 

Ph.D. Dissertation Research Supervision:

 

S.S. Todorov, Interactions of Low-Energy Oxygen Ions with Silicon Surfaces (Columbia 1987)

R.E. Colbeth,GaAs Charge-Coupled Device Circuits for High Speed Signal Processing(Columbia 1989)

R.W. Ade,Optical Interconnection by Vertical Coupling of Single-Mode Fibers to Semiconductors (Columbia 1990).

E-S. Eid, Charge-Coupled Device Focal-Plane Processors (Columbia 1990)

J-I. Song, Resistive-Gate AlGaAs/GaAs Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Charge-Coupled Devices (Columbia 1990).

S.E. Kemeny, CCD Focal-Plane Image Reorganization Processors (Columbia 1991)

D.V. Rossi, InGaAs Resistive Gate Charge-Coupled Devices (Columbia 1992)

B. Pain, Low Noise CMOS Circuits for On-Chip Signal Processing in Focal-Plane Arrays (Columbia 1993)

S. Mendis, CMOS Active Pixel Image Sensors and On-Chip Signal Processing (Columbia 1994)

Z. Zhou, On-Focal Plane Signal Processing for CMOS Active Pixel Sensors (UCLA 1997)

M. Wang, High Dynamic Range CMOS Active Pixel Sensors (USC 2001)

      A. K.-B. Cho, Micropower, Microsized CMOS Camera-on-a-Chip (USC 2001).

      S. Ay, Design Issues and Performance of Large Format Scientific CMOS Image Sensors, (USC 2004).

 

Courses Taught:

 

Semiconductor Devices and Lab (Junior-level and Graduate Level)

Principles of Device Microfabrication and Lab (Senior/Graduate Level)

Intermediate Electrical Circuits (Junior/Senior Level)

Quantum Mechanics for Engineers (Senior Level)

Electromagnetics (Senior Level)

MOS Devices (Graduate Level)

Imaging Devices (Graduate Level)

Introduction to Innovation (Graduate Level)

 

Publications and Inventions:

 

Total publications (not incl. patents):                           >250

  Please see publications list for full details.

  H-index (“ER Fossum”):                                                        43

 

U.S. Patents granted:                                                         >140

  Please see patents list for full details.

 

Volunteer Activities:

 

2010-                               University of New Hampshire ECE Industrial Advisory Board

2008,2011                      Home Owner’s Association Board of Directors

2007-                               International Image Sensor Society, President

2002-2004                      Trinity College Board of Fellows

1999-2005                      American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Coach and Referee

1998-                               Trinity College Engineering Advisory Council (Chair 2000-2002)

1997-                               Talcott Mountain Science Center Science Advisory Council

1995-1998                      Boston Museum of  Science, Science-by-Mail Volunteer Scientist

1991-1995                      Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mentoring Program

1988-1990                      Columbia University Minority Double Discovery Center Board