Sos Agaian, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), is also a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 30 years of innovation in perception-based imaging. For example, in 1999 he pioneered no-reference image quality metrics (EME, AMEE, SDME, UIQM), establishing a new research area. This enabled accurate modeling of human visual perception, improved image editing, MRI quality, and reduced scan times. With his team, Agaian has created key tools to test image randomness, detect tampering, and build attack-resistant encryption. His innovations also defend against fake weather attacks critical to autonomous vehicles and AI systems, and he was among the first to propose merging compression and encryption to improve security, speed, and energy efficiency. His more than 50 patents cover image security, joint compression-encryption, digital recompression, and bit-level data processing. In collaboration with Tufts, University of Texas at San Antonio, TSA, and Stanford, he has advanced object-recognition and cancer-screening technologies. Across his career, his many applications span healthcare, biomedical data mining, object recognition, signal processing, computer-aided food quality inspection, 3D imaging, visible and thermal sensors, computational photography, multimedia security, and finance.
An SPIE Fellow Member since 2025, Agaian has served as an associate and guest editor for SPIE publications, and as a conference chair and program committee member. In 2016, he co-founded the “Multimodal Image Exploitation and Learning” conference for SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing (now SPIE Defense + Security), and has chaired this conference, driving its growth and impact. He also chaired the “Mobile Multimedia/Image Processing, Security, and Applications” conference (2009-2016), for Defense + Commercial Sensing. Beyond his research, Agaian is actively committed to developing the next generation of researchers and engineers within the SPIE community, mentoring numerous students, many of whom have earned prestigious Best Paper Awards from SPIE.
“As the former associate dean who witnessed firsthand Dr. Agaian's exceptional impact over his 20-year tenure at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), I can attest that he stands among our field's most innovative researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and inspirational educators,” says UTSA’s Distinguished Research Professor of Electrical Engineering Amar Bhalla. “Dr. Agaian’s transformative contributions to imaging technology and extraordinary commitment to education continue to elevate the standards of excellence in imaging science, embodying the pinnacle of what the SPIE Aden and Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award represents: groundbreaking technological contributions with far-reaching practical applications, transformative educational leadership, and an extraordinary commitment to mentoring the next generation of imaging scientists and engineers. I believe that this well-deserved recognition of Dr. Agaian’s work and accomplishments will inspire others – as well as inspiring future innovations our field.”
Meet the other 2026 SPIE Society Award winners.
Read more about the Aden & Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award.
