George E. Smith

George Elwood Smith (May 10, 1930 – May 28, 2025) was an American applied physicist. He was one of the inventors of the charge-coupled device, or CCD, a special part that helps cameras and computers see and store images.

Smith shared one half of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics with Willard Boyle for creating this important imaging semiconductor circuit. The CCD sensor changed the way we take pictures and record video, making it easier and better for everyone to capture moments in everyday life.

Education

George Elwood Smith was born on May 10, 1930, in White Plains, New York. After serving in the U.S. Navy for four years, Smith started his studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and graduated with a B.S. in 1955. He later became a teaching assistant at the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1959. His research focused on the anomalous skin effect in the element bismuth.

Career

George E. Smith worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey from 1959 until he retired in 1986. During his time there, he led research into new kinds of lasers and tiny devices made from special materials.

In 1969, Smith and Willard Boyle invented something called the charge-coupled device (CCD). For this important discovery, they received several big awards, including the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009.

Personal life and death

George E. Smith loved sailing and took many trips with his friend Boyle. After he retired, he sailed around the world with his partner, Janet, for seventeen years. He stopped sailing in 2003 to rest his body after many storms. He lived in Waretown, part of Ocean Township, Ocean County, New Jersey.

Smith passed away at his home in Barnegat Township, New Jersey on May 28, 2025, at the age of 95.

Recognition

George E. Smith received many honors for his important work. He was recognized with several awards during his career.

He was also invited to join many special groups for scientists.

Year	Organization	Award	Citation
1973	Franklin Institute	Stuart Ballantine Medal	"Invention of charge-coupled device structure for imagesensing, serial memory and signal processing."
1974	IEEE	IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award	"For the invention of the charge-coupled device and leadership in the field of MOS device physics."
1999	NEC C&C Foundation	C&C Prize	"For the Invention of the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)."
2001	Optical Society of America IS&T	Edwin H. Land Medal	"For the invention and development of the charge-coupled device, a contribution that has had extraordinary impact on image creation and utilization."
2006	National Academy of Engineering	Charles Stark Draper Prize	"For the invention of the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), a light-sensitive component at the heart of digital cameras and other widely used imaging technologies."
2009	Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences	Nobel Prize in Physics	"For the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor."
2015	Royal Photographic Society	Progress Medal	—
2017	Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation	Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering	"For their work on Digital Imaging Sensors."

Year	Organization	Type
1983	National Academy of Engineering	Member