Background
Boyle was born in 1883 at Carbonear in the Dominion of Newfoundland.
Boyle was born in 1883 at Carbonear in the Dominion of Newfoundland.
He earned McGill"s first Doctor of Philosophy in physics in 1909.
He then moved to England to continue his work by following Rutherford to the University of Manchester. In 1912 he returned to Canada at the request of Henry Marshall Tory to become head of the physics department at the University of Alberta, and shifted his research to ultrasonics. Before 1917 the scientific teams from the Allied countries worked separately, however, after joining forces with French researchers, Boyle produced a working prototype of what the British called "ASDIC" (the first sonar).
Early versions of the technology were being installed on Royal Navy war ships just as the war came to an education
In 1919 Boyle returned to Alberta and shortly thereafter became dean of the Faculty of Applied Science, a position he held until 1929. That year he joined the National Research Council of Canada as the director of physics, where he supervised research into radar during the Second World War.
He continued to work at the National Research Council until his retirement in 1948, when he moved back to England. He died in London, England, aged 71.
Royal Society of Canada.