Dr. Junichi Nakamura Awarded Prize for Contributions to CMOS Image Sensor TechnologyAptina announced Junichi Nakamura, Ph.D., MD for Aptina's Tokyo CMOS Image Sensor Design Center is a recipient of the 2008 Takayanagi Memorial Award for Encouragement. This prestigious honor which is accompanied by a monetary award is granted to only three recipients each year by the Japan based Takayanagi Foundati...
Dr. Junichi Nakamura Awarded Prize for Contributions to CMOS Image Sensor Technology
Aptina announced Junichi Nakamura, Ph.D., MD for Aptina's Tokyo CMOS Image Sensor Design Center is a recipient of the 2008 Takayanagi Memorial Award for Encouragement. This prestigious honor which is accompanied by a monetary award is granted to only three recipients each year by the Japan based Takayanagi Foundation for Electronics Science and Technology for outstanding achievements in electronic science and its applications. The foundation committee's selection of Dr. Nakamura for the award was based upon his contributions to CMOS image sensor technology advancement. His extensive contributions to CMOS image sensor technology have served as a foundation of expertise and insight for the image sensor industry for over 20 years.
"I'm pleased to see that Dr. Nakamura is being recognized for his contribution to CMOS image sensor technology. The Takayanagi Foundation's presentation of the Takayanagi Memorial Award for Encouragement attests to his hard work and high standards in scientific research and design,” said Bob Gove, President and CTO at Aptina. “He has played a key role in the success of CMOS image sensors' image quality and their prevalent use in camera phones, cameras, PCs, automobiles, scanners, gaming and numerous other new applications. Aptina is honored to have his professional and technological expertise and we congratulate him on his award and continuing efforts in advancing image excellence.”
Dr. Nakamura's selection for the Takayanagi Memorial Award for Encouragement was based upon a number of factors including his active pixel sensor research and development that preceded the concept of modern CMOS image sensors in the early 1990's; his invention of novel readout methods for active pixel sensors, and his leadership of the development of a CMOS image sensor for Super-Hi Vision (SHV) cameras. Super Hi-Vision, also known as Ultra High Definition Video, is a video format developed by NHK Science & Technical Research Laboratories that is 16 times the pixel resolution found in existing HDTV.
Dr. Nakamura received a B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. degree in electronics engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree in electronics engineering from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, in 2000. Highlights of his early work with image sensors include optical image processing, work on the development of active pixel sensors, including static induction transistor image sensors and MOS type image sensors at the Olympus Optical Company. He was a Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, where he pioneered many CMOS advancements with Dr. Eric R. Fossum who led the Advanced Imager and Focal-plane Technology Group. In 2000 he joined Photobit where he led several sensor developments.
Since 2001 Dr. Nakamura has led the Tokyo Imaging Design Center, Micron Japan, Ltd., an integral part of Aptina's CMOS image sensor design initiatives. Nakamura is a member of the Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers of Japan and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
"Having worked with Junichi on groundbreaking image sensor technology projects since the early days of Active Pixel Sensors in CMOS imaging at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I am very familiar with his dedication to advancing CMOS image sensor technology,” said Dr. Eric R. Fossum, President of Imagesensors. “Dr. Nakamura's work in science and technology are reflected and honored in his receiving the Takayanagi Memorial Award for Encouragement.”
Takayanagi Award
Kenjiro Takayanagi, known as the “Father of Television” was the founder of the Takayanagi Memorial Foundation for Electronic Science and Technology Corporation which was authorized in 1984 and which later became a testing research facility. The foundation awards research grants to individual recipients for outstanding achievements in electrical science and its applications as well as individual recipients for outstanding achievements in science broadcasting programs.