Illustration of the Canadian physicist Willard Boyle (1924-2011). Boyle studied at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, interrupting his studies to serve in World War II. He joined Bell Labs in 1953, carrying out pioneering research in laser technology. It was in 1969, working with George Elwood Smith, that he helped invent the charge-coupled device (CCD). This device is used extensively in astronomy, and in other sciences where high-quality digital imaging is needed. Boyle and Smith were jointly awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work.