The Legacy of Steve Sasson: Pioneer of Digital Photography
In 1973, Steve Sasson, a 23-year-old recent graduate, embarked on a career at Eastman Kodak, specifically within the apparatus division of the company’s Applied Research Department.
Shortly thereafter, he was tasked with a seemingly mundane assignment: to explore the potential applications of a charged-coupled device (C.C.D.).
“Very few people were aware of my work on this, as it wasn’t deemed a significant project,” Sasson recounted to the New York Times in 2015. “It wasn’t classified; rather, it served as a way to keep me engaged and out of mischief.”
Remarkably, just two years later, Sasson finalized a prototype that would become the world’s first self-contained, portable digital camera.
Steve Sasson is often credited with the invention of the first self-contained, portable digital camera.
“This device transcended the concept of a mere camera,” Sasson emphasized. “It introduced a photographic system that epitomized an all-electronic camera devoid of film and paper, eliminating any consumables in the capture and display of still images.”
Sasson is scheduled to deliver the 76th Steinmetz Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial. This event is complimentary and open to the public, with a mixer preceding it at 6:30.
During his lecture, Sasson will recount the genesis of his revolutionary prototype—a compact, battery-operated device that stored digital images on cassette tape.
He will also elucidate the crucial 1977 patent for the “electronic still camera,” which laid the groundwork for the architecture prevalent in contemporary digital camera designs. This prototype is widely acknowledged as a watershed moment in the narrative of photography.
“We are indeed fortunate to host Steven at Union, where he will share his remarkable journey with us,” remarked Luke Dosiek, the William D. Williams Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
“He orchestrated the transition from film to digital—a shift many of us have experienced—yet his name remains largely unrecognized. This should prove to be an enlightening discussion.”
Sasson, a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering, dedicated 35 years of his career to Eastman Kodak.
- Holder of 10 U.S. patents
- Inductee of the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
- Inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Recipient of the British Royal Photographic Society’s Progress Medal
In 2009, Sasson was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Obama during a ceremony at the White House.
The original digital camera Sasson produced by Sasson in 1975, can now be viewed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
This talk is being presented in collaboration with the Schenectady section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The Steinmetz Memorial Lecture series pays tribute to the illustrious engineer Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865-1923), who served as a professor of electrical engineering at Union from 1902 to 1913 and was a former president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.
Established in 1925, this series has invited numerous distinguished scientists, engineers, and innovators to share their insights on campus.
Source link: Union.edu.
