Dartmouth Engineering's Eric Fossum Elected to National Academy of Engineering Council

Professor Eric Fossum

Fossum is one of four elected members tasked with shaping NAE's policy, guiding national initiatives, and overseeing programs that address a wide range of issues, including engineering education, workforce development, national security, and climate resilience. 

Members of the NAE Council are elected by their peers—composed of the country's prominent engineering and technology leaders across industry, academia, and government—for their technical distinction and service to the broader engineering profession.

Fossum, who also serves as Dartmouth's vice provost for entrepreneurship and technology transfer and directs the PhD Innovation Program, is widely recognized for his groundbreaking role in imaging technology innovation. In the early 1990s, Fossum led the team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that invented the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor that has revolutionized digital photography. Today, the CMOS image sensor is a core component of nearly all smartphones, webcams, medical imaging tools, and other advanced imaging devices.

Fossum's achievements have been recognized with some of the highest honors in engineering and innovation, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from the White House, an Emmy Award for Technology and Engineering, and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering—often regarded as the "Nobel Prize of Engineering."

The National Academy of Engineering's mission is to advance the welfare and prosperity of the nation by providing independent advice on engineering and technology issues, and by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and public appreciation of engineering.