Peter B. Denyer

Peter Brian Denyer (27 April 1953 – 22 April 2010) was a British electronics engineer, academic, scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur who pioneered CMOS image sensor chips for many applications including mobile phones, webcams, video-conferencing cameras, and optical computer mouse. "Undoubtedly, his greatest legacy...was his work in fitting mini-cameras in mobile phones." wrote the Herald Scotland. From an EE professorship at the University of Edinburgh, he went on to found VLSI Vision Inc., later known as VISION Group plc, an early maker of CMOS image sensors that sold itself to STMicroelectronics. The first academic to grow a Scottish university spin-out company to PLC, he was described by the Royal Society as "a unique combination of electronics engineer, distinguished academic, inventor, company CEO and multiple entrepreneur." He also worked for a year as cofounder and Director of the LSI design house Denyer-Walmsley Microelectronics Ltd. "The fact that he sold the company in return for share options – which later went down – meant he did not become a greatly wealthy man." reported the Herald Scotland.

1985 Peter B. Denyer, David Renshaw: VLSI Signal Processing: A Bit-Serial Approach

1983 Alan F. Murray, Peter B. Denyer, David S. Renshaw: Self-Testing in Bit Serial VLSI Parts: High Coverage at Low Cost. ITC 1983: 260–268

Denyer was a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a Fellow of the Institute of Nanotechnology, and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Personal life Denyer died of cancer and was survived by his wife, Fiona, daughters Kate and Kirsty, father, mother and two brothers, Geoff and Barry. One of his brothers wrote after his death: "If you own a digital camera or a mobile phone with a camera in then you should say a quiet 'Thank you' to Pete. For a long time he held the patent for the chip behind every digital camera – he sold the company many years ago."

Denyer had a holiday cottage in Keltneyburn, Aberfeldy, and in his last years took up sailing, progressing in two years from novice to skipper. He became an enthusiastic yachtsman, sailing his yacht Tigger Too, which was moored at Ardfern, Lochgilphead, off the west coast of Scotland and in the Mediterranean.