Eric Fossum Receives the 2026 Draper Prize for his Invention of “Camera on a Chip”

[Richard CR]

Noted physicist Eric Fossum, inventor of today’s CMOS image sensor and long-time friend of our community, has been awarded the 2026 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering. This biennial award, presented by the National Academy of Engineering, carries a price tag of $500,000, making it one of the most prestigious awards in this field, often […]

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[Diko]

I really really hope that his latest and greatest research aside from scientific progress would also benefit us the photographers.

If current progress of QIT (Quanta Image Sensor) chips reach 16–41 MP with 1.1–2.2 μm pixels, 30–60 fps readout, and single‑exposure dynamic range around 95–100 dB (≈20+ stops), clearly in a range implemented in a QIS‑based “regular” professional stills body, medium‑ to long‑term realistically in the timeframe of 5–15 years from now, assuming the technology continues to mature and finds viable high‑volume markets along the way.

Now that would be awesome since I am an avid Night and Low Light fan!

 

[P-visie]

I really really hope that his latest and greatest research aside from scientific progress would also benefit us the photographers.

If current progress of QIT (Quanta Image Sensor) chips reach 16–41 MP with 1.1–2.2 μm pixels, 30–60 fps readout, and single‑exposure dynamic range around 95–100 dB (≈20+ stops), clearly in a range implemented in a QIS‑based “regular” professional stills body, medium‑ to long‑term realistically in the timeframe of 5–15 years from now, assuming the technology continues to mature and finds viable high‑volume markets along the way.

Now that would be awesome since I am an avid Night and Low Light fan!

Canon demonstrated a SPAD sensor at the CES that has a dynamic range of 26 stops.

See: https://petapixel.com/2026/01/09/ca...-image-sensor-with-26-stops-of-dynamic-range/