Willard Boyle
Willard Boyle | |
|---|---|
 Boyle in 2009 | |
| Born | Willard Sterling Boyle August 19, 1924 Amherst, Nova Scotia,Canada |
| Died | May 7, 2011(aged 86) Truro, Nova Scotia,[1]Canada |
| Citizenship |
|
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Charge-coupled device[3] |
| Spouse |
Betty Boyle (m.1946) |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Applied physics |
| Institutions | Bell Labs |
| Thesis | The construction of a Dempster type mass spectrometer: its use in the measurement of the diffusion rates of certain alkali metals in tungsten(1950) |
| Doctoral advisor | H.G.I. Watson |
Willard Sterling Boyle,CC(August 19, 1924 – May 7, 2011) was a Canadianphysicist.[4]He was a pioneer in the field oflasertechnology and co-inventor of thecharge-coupled device.[5]As director of Space Science and Exploratory Studies at Bellcomm he helped select lunar landing sites and provided support for theApollo space program.[6]
On October 6, 2009, it was announced that he would share the 2009Nobel Prize in Physicsfor "the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor, which has become an electronic eye in almost all areas of photography".[2]
He was appointed a Companion of theOrder of Canada– the award's highest level – on June 30, 2010.[7]
Early life[edit]
Born inAmherst, Nova Scotia,on August 19, 1924, Boyle was the son of a medical doctor and moved to Quebec with his father and mother Bernice when he was less than two.[8]He was home schooled by his mother until age fourteen, when he attendedMontreal'sLower Canada Collegeto complete his secondary education.[8]
Education[edit]
Boyle attendedMcGill University,but his education was interrupted in 1943, when he joined theRoyal Canadian Navyduring World War II.[8]He was loaned to theRoyal Navy,where he was learning how to landSpitfiresonaircraft carriersas the war ended.[8]He gained a BSc in 1947, an MSc in 1948, and a PhD in 1950, all from McGill.[9]
Career[edit]
After receiving his doctorate, Boyle spent one year at Canada's Radiation Lab and two years teaching physics at theRoyal Military College of Canada.[8]
Bell Labs[edit]
In 1953 Boyle joinedBell Labswhere he invented the first continuously operatingruby laserwith Don Nelson in 1962,[6] and was named on the first patent for asemiconductor injection laser.[6]He was made director of Space Science and Exploratory Studies at theBell Labssubsidiary Bellcomm in 1962, providing support for theApollo space programand helping to select lunar landing sites.[6]He returned to Bell Labs in 1964, working on the development ofintegrated circuits.[6]
Invention of charge-coupled device[edit]
In 1969, Boyle andGeorge E. Smithinvented thecharge-coupled device(CCD), for which they have jointly received theFranklin Institute'sStuart Ballantine Medalin 1973, the 1974IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award,the 2006Charles Stark Draper Prize,and the 2009Nobel Prize in Physics.[9][6]The CCD allowedNASAto send clear pictures to Earth back from space.[10]It is also the technology that powers manydigital camerastoday. Smith said of their invention: "After making the first couple of imaging devices, we knew for certain that chemistry photography was dead."[11]Eugene GordonandMike Tompsett,two now-retired colleagues from Bell labs, claim that its application to photography was not invented by Boyle.[12]Boyle was Executive Director of Research for Bell Labs from 1975 until his retirement in 1979.[10]
Personal life[edit]
In retirement he split his time between Halifax andWallace, Nova Scotia.[13]In Wallace, he helped launch an art gallery with his wife, Betty, alandscape artist.[8]He was married to Betty since 1946 and had four children, 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.[5]
In his later years, Boyle suffered from kidney disease, and due to complications from this disease, died in a hospital in Nova Scotia on May 7, 2011.[10]
Notes[edit]
- ^Willard Sterling Boyle
- ^abWillard Boyleon Nobelprize.org
- ^Smith, George (2011)."Willard Boyle (1924–2011) Physicist who helped invent the 'eye of the digital camera'".Nature.474(7349): 37.doi:10.1038/474037a.PMID21637246.
- ^Chang, Kenneth (October 7, 2009)."Nobel Awarded for Harnessing Light".The New York Times.New York. p. A20. Archived fromthe originalon May 26, 2024.RetrievedOctober 9,2009.
- ^ab "Canadian scientist shares Nobel physics prize".CBC News.Toronto. October 6, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on July 24, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 22,2015.
- ^abcdef Mahoney, Jill; Elizabeth Church (October 7, 2009). "The Nobel Physics Prize: A Canadian who took big risks takes home the big prize".The Globe and Mail.Toronto. pp. A1–A2.
- ^Governor General of Canada(June 30, 2010)."Governor General announces 74 new appointments to the Order of Canada".It's an Honour.Queen's Printer for Canada.Archived fromthe originalon June 12, 2012.RetrievedJuly 12,2012.
- ^abcdefBaxter, Joan (February 16, 2006)."A modest man's big idea Digital chip changed the world".The Toronto Star:A3. Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2012.RetrievedOctober 6,2009.
- ^ab "McGill congratulates its second Nobel-winning alumnus of 2009".Alumni News.McGill University.October 6, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon January 31, 2012.RetrievedOctober 15,2009.
- ^abcMaugh II, Thomas H. (May 19, 2011)."Nobelist was a father of the digital camera".Los Angeles Times.Los Angeles. Archived fromthe originalon December 7, 2012.RetrievedJuly 11,2012.
- ^Cassingham, Randy (May 15, 2011)."Willard Boyle".This is True.Ridgway, Colorado. Archived fromthe originalon May 10, 2012.RetrievedJuly 12,2012.
- ^Nobel Controversy: Former Bell Labs Employee Says He Invented the CCD ImagerIEEE
- ^"Nobel laureate dies Saturday".Amherst Daily News.Amherst, N.S. May 8, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon July 30, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 22,2015.
External links[edit]
- Willard Boyleon Nobelprize.orgincluding the Nobel Lecture on December 8, 2009CCD – an Extension of Man's Vision
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
- 1924 births
- 2011 deaths
- Canadian expatriates in the United States
- Canadian inventors
- Canadian Nobel laureates
- Canadian physicists
- Companions of the Order of Canada
- Deaths from kidney disease
- McGill University alumni
- Nobel laureates in Physics
- Draper Prize winners
- People from Amherst, Nova Scotia
- People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
- Academic staff of the Royal Military College of Canada
- Scientists at Bell Labs
- Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II