Career
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he received a B.Sc.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1941. He joined the National Research Council of Canada (National Research Council) in 1942. Beginning in 1949, he worked with Doctor Wilfred Bigelow and Doctor John Callaghan at the Banting Institute in the University of Toronto, developing the world"s first external artificial pacemaker in 1951.
(The first internal pacemaker was implanted in a human body by a Swedish team in 1958)
In 1965, Hopps founded the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society (CMBES) and became its first President.
In 1976, he was awarded the honour of Fellow of the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society. He was also the President of the Ontario Heart Foundation (Ottawa Chapter).
In 1985, his autobiography, Passing Pulses, the Pacemaker and Medical Engineering: A Canadian Story, was published.