Steven Sasson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Steven Sasson
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Steve Sasson at Photokina 2010
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| Born | July 4, 1950 New York City, New York, US
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (BS, 1972; MS, 1973) |
| Occupation | Electrical engineer Inventor |
| Known for | Inventor of the first self-contained digital camera |
Steven J. Sasson (born July 4, 1950) is an American electrical engineer and the amazing inventor of the first portable digital camera. He started working at a company called Kodak right after finishing engineering school. He retired from Kodak in 2009.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Steven Sasson was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Ragnhild Tomine (Endresen), was from Norway.
He went to Brooklyn Technical High School and graduated from there. Later, he studied electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He earned his first degree (Bachelor of Science) in 1972 and a master's degree (Master of Science) in 1973.
Inventing the First Digital Camera
Steven Sasson created the first portable, battery-powered digital camera at Kodak in 1975. This was a huge step for photography!
How the First Digital Camera Worked
His invention weighed about 8 pounds, which is like carrying a small bowling ball! It used a special part called a Fairchild CCD image sensor. This sensor had only 100 by 100 pixels, which is just 0.01 megapixel. Today's phone cameras have millions of pixels!
The camera saved images digitally onto a cassette tape. It took about twenty-three seconds to record each picture. The pictures were also only in black and white. When he started this project, he dreamed of a camera with no moving parts. Even though his first camera had some moving parts, like the tape drive, it was still a groundbreaking invention.
Patent and Other Digital Cameras
In 1977, Kodak applied for a patent for some of Sasson's camera ideas. A patent is like an official document that protects an invention. The patent was called "electronic still camera," and it listed Sasson and Gareth Lloyd as the inventors. This patent described a way to quickly read images from the CCD sensor into a temporary memory and then save them to storage more slowly. Many modern digital cameras still use a similar method.
Sasson's prototype was not the very first camera to create digital images. But it was the first digital camera you could hold in your hand and carry around. Before his invention, other digital cameras existed. These included the Multi Spectral Scanner on Landsat 1, which took digital photos of Yosemite in 1972. There were also cameras used for astronomical photography (taking pictures of space), and some experimental devices. A commercial product for hobbyists called the Cromemco Cyclops also existed.
Steven Sasson's Career and Awards
Steven Sasson's work on digital cameras began in 1975. His boss at Eastman Kodak Company, Gareth A. Lloyd, asked him to try building an electronic camera using a new part called a charge-coupled device (CCD). This led to his amazing camera invention, which received U.S. patent number 4,131,919.
Sasson retired from Eastman Kodak Company in 2009. After that, he started working as a consultant, helping with intellectual property protection. In 2018, he joined the University of South Florida Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation as a member and professor.
Recognitions and Honors
Steven Sasson has received many important awards for his work:
- On November 17, 2009, the U.S. President Barack Obama gave Sasson the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. This is the highest honor the US government gives to scientists, engineers, and inventors.
- On September 6, 2012, The Royal Photographic Society gave Sasson its Progress Medal and made him an Honorary Fellow. This was to recognize his important contribution to the scientific and technological development of photography.
- Leica Camera AG, a famous camera company, honored Sasson by giving him one of their cameras at a big trade show called Photokina 2010.
- Sasson was added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011. Later, in 2018, he was chosen as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Patents
- U.S. Patent 4,131,919 Patent – Electronic Still camera
See also
In Spanish: Steven Sasson para niños
