Winner of 2009 Nobel Prize Dr. Willard S. Boyle homeschooled by mother

Canadian physicist Dr. Williard S. Boyle was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for the co-invention of the charge coupled device (CCD). An obviously well educated man, Boyle's foundation of learning started at home, where he was taught by his mother until he was old enough to enter high school.

Boyle was born in Amherst Nova Scotia on August 19, 1924. When he was three years old he moved with his family to Quebec, where his father was the resident doctor in a logging community called Chaudiere. He resided in that small community until it came time for him to go away to school. 

Boyle was homeschooled by his mother until he reached Grade 9, at which time he attended Lower Canada College in Montreal. He reportedly did very well at school, and partly credits his success to the many books his mother guided him to read.

Boyle went on to receive a BSc, MSc and PhD in Physics from McGill University. He is best known for co-inventing the charge coupled device, an imaging semiconductor circuit, with George E. Smith. It is for this achievement he was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. Other major scientific contributions include:

• the first continuously operating ruby laser, co-invented with Don Nelson in 1962
• the first patent for a semiconductor injection laser, received with David Thomas
• the development of integrated circuits, essential in telecommunications and electronics
• working with NASA to help determine where astronauts should land on the moon

Boyle resides in Wallace, Nova Scotia. His words of wisdom include: "Know how to judge when to persevere and when to quit. If you're going to do something, do it well. You don't have to be better than everyone else, but you ought to do your personal best."