Shree Nayar Honored by Sony
Shree Nayar, T. C. Chang Professor of Computer Science, was recently honored by Sony Corporation for his pioneering work on computational imaging. Hiroaki Ooki, co-director of Sony’s Image Sensor Business Division, presented Nayar with a letter of appreciation at a ceremony hosted by Columbia Engineering Dean Mary C. Boyce on June 9, 2014.
L-R: Julia Hirschberg, Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Computer Science and Chair, Computer Science; Hiroaki Ooki, Co-Director, Image Sensor Business Division, Sony; Shree Nayar, T.C. Chang Professor of Computer Science; Tomoo Mitsunaga, Senior Researcher, Image Sensor Business Division, Sony; Mary Boyce, Dean of Engineering and Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor
“This letter of appreciation is a rare honor bestowed by Sony upon an individual who has had a significant impact on the company,” says Yasuhiro Ueda, senior general manager of the company’s Image Sensor Business Division. Sony is recognizing Nayar for his seminal contributions to computational imaging, the long research collaboration between his Computer Vision Laboratory at the School and Sony, and for mentoring Sony’s engineers who have worked in his laboratory.
Nayar has hosted seven Sony engineers in his lab as a part of the research collaboration, from Tomoo Mitsunaga in 1997 to Jo Kensei, who is currently working with him. Teaming up with Nayar and his research group, the Sony engineers have published a series of findings at imaging and computer vision conferences on topics ranging from novel imaging optics to advanced image sensors. These publications detail several innovations developed in Nayar’s lab that are shaping the next generation of digital cameras and the image sensors they use.
Sony has the largest share of the image sensor market, which has been growing at a remarkable pace due to the rapid adoption of digital imaging in photography, as well as other applications, including security, health care, automobile, and scientific imaging. “It is a great honor to be recognized by Sony,” says Nayar, who is a member of the Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering's New Media Center. “Our collaboration has given my research laboratory a unique opportunity to impact the future of digital imaging and have our research results enable consumer products that reach a very broad global audience.”
World renowned as a pioneer in the field of computational imaging, Nayar was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011 for developing the concept of computational cameras and his influential work on physics-based computer vision. In 2006, he also received the Columbia Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates.