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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as Subject

Willard S. Boyle

Photo

Dates

August 19, 1924 – May 7, 2011

Authorized Form of Name

Boyle, Willard S., 1924-2011

Additional Forms of Names

Boyle, Willard

Biography

Abstract

Willard Boyle was a Canadian physicist and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device for which he won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was also Executive Director of Research for Bell Labs from 1975 to 1979.

Important Dates

August 19, 1924Birth, Amherst (N.S.).

1947Obtained BSc, McGill University, Montréal (Québec).

1948Obtained MSc, McGill University, Montréal (Québec).

1950Obtained PhD in Physics, McGill University, Montréal (Québec).

1950 – 1951Lecturer in Physics, McGill University, Montréal (Québec).

1951 – 1953Assistant Professor of Physics, Royal Military College, Kingston, Canada.

1953 – 1962Member, Technical Staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1962Invented the first continuously operating ruby laser with Don Nelson at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1962 – 1964Director, Space Science and Exploratory Studies, Bellcomm, Inc. (subsidiary of Bell Telephone Laboratories).

1964 – 1979Director, Semiconductor Device Laboratory (1964-1968); Executive Director, Semiconductor Device Laboratory (1968-1975); Executive Director of Research, Communications Sciences Division (1975-1979); Consultant (1979-2011), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1969Invented the charge-coupled device (CCD) with George E. Smith at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1974Awarded Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

1979 – 2011Consultant.

2001Awarded Edwin H. Land Medal, Optical Society of America.

2006Awarded Charles Stark Draper Prize, National Academy of Engineering.

2009Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with George E. Smith "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor".

May 7, 2011Death, Truro (N.S.).

Occupation

Condensed matter physicist.

Places

Birth

Amherst (N.S.)

Undergraduate Education

Montréal (Québec)

Graduate Education

Montréal (Québec)

Employment

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Death

Truro (N.S.)

Subjects

Charge coupled devices.

Condensed matter.

Lasers.

Transistors.

Relationships

People

Advisors & Collaborators

Nelson, Donald F.

Co-invented the first continuously operating ruby laser and both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Smith, George E., 1930-

Co-invented the charge-coupled device (CCD), shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention, and both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Colleagues

Ahlers, G. (Günter)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Appelbaum, J. A. (Joel A.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Aspnes, D. E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bishop, David John, 1951-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bode, Hendrik W. (Hendrik Wade), 1905-1982

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brinkman, William F. (William Frank), 1938-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cava, Robert J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chu, Ching-wu, 1941-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cohen, Marvin L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

DiSalvo, Francis

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dolan, Gerald

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Feher, George, 1924-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fleury, Paul A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fulton, Theodore Alan

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Gossard, A. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Halperin, Bertrand I.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hamann, Donald, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hohenberg, Pierre C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Jackson, Shirley Ann, 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kelly, Mervin Joe

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kompfner, Rudolf, 1909-1977

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Laughlin, Robert B.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lax, Melvin J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lee, P. A. (Patrick A.), 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Libchaber, Albert J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

McMillan, William L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Murray, Cherry Ann

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Patel, C. Kumar N.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pearson, Gerald L. (Gerald Leondus)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Penzias, Arno A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pfann, William G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, J. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pinczuk, Aron

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Raney, William P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rice, Thomas Maurice, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Richards, Paul L. (Paul Linford)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rowell, John Martin, 1935-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Sarachik, Myriam P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shockley, William, 1910-1989

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Störmer, Horst

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tauc, J. (Jan)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, D. G. (David Gilbert), 1928-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tsui, D. C. (Daniel Chee), 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Wilson, Robert Woodrow, 1936-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Yariv, Amnon

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Institutions

Major Positions

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Member, Technical Staff; Director, Semiconductor Device Laboratory; Director, Space Science and Exploratory Studies (Bellcomm); Executive Director, Semiconductor Device Laboratory; Executive Director of Research, Communications Sciences Division; and Consultant.

McGill University. Physics Department

Obtained BSc, MSc, and PhD in 1950 and Lecturer in Physics.

Royal Military College of Canada

Assistant Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Received 1974 Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award.

National Academy of Engineering

Received 2006 Charles Stark Draper Prize.

Optical Society of America

Received 2001 Edwin H. Land Medal.

Resources

Archival Resources

Subject

Oral history interview with George E. Smith, 2001 January 17.

IEEE History Center

Rutgers University

39 Union Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA

Oral history interview with Joseph Giordmaine, 2007 October 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Nobel Prize Autobiography

Subject

Willard S. Boyle, Father of Digital Eye, Dies at 86

Willard S. Boyle, Science.ca Profile