Companion of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: May 6, 2010
• Invested on: November 17, 2010

One of the most accomplished Canadian physicists of his generation, Willard Boyle is an innovative scientist whose work has been the keystone of many new technologies used throughout the world. He is best known as the co-inventor of the charged-coupled device (CCD), a light-sensitive circuit that revolutionized imaging technology, and for which he won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. He also developed the first continuously operating ruby laser, which helped to spur the development of fiber optics. In addition, he lent support to the Apollo space program and, following his retirement, he provided leadership to the Research Council of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, as well as to the Nova Scotia Council for Applied Science and Technology.