Nova Scotian Institute of Science - Hall of Fame
- William James Archibald
- Born: 30 October 1912, Sydney, Nova Scotia
- Died: 29 May 2001, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Field: Theoretical Physics
Though born in Sydney, Archibald grew up in Bridgetown, in the Annapolis Valley.
He obtained his PhD
from the University of Virginia in 1938. Part of his PhD work was published in a
paper entitled "The complete solution of the differential equation for the
confluent hypergeometric function" (Phil. Mag. XXVI, 415 (1938)). The result was
surprising and significant for, until then, it was thought the complete solution
had been known. Archibald spent the year 1938-39 at Yale as a Sterling Fellow.
His first career position was with the National Research Council of Canada
(1939-42). Wartime activities in Halifax put tremendous pressure on the
Dalhousie physics department, and Archibald was persuaded to return to his Alma
Mater in 1942 to help out. In the next forty-two years, Archibald made an
invaluable contribution to generations of students at Dalhousie in his role, at
various times, as O.E. Smith Professor of Physics, Dr. A. C. Fales Professor of
Theoretical Physics, Head of the Physics Department, Dean of the Faculty of
Science and Arts, and Dean of Freshmen.
Archibald's research has had an impact not only in physics and mathematics, but
also in chemistry, biology and the health sciences. His paper, "A demonstration of
some new methods of determining molecular weights from the data of the
ultracentrifuge" published in J. Phys. Colloid Chem. 51,1204 (1947) has been
cited more than 650 times, with about half of these citations taking place in
the period 1960-70.
Archibald was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1947. He received an
honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of New Brunswick in
1961, and an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Dalhousie University in
1979.
Bibliography
D.D. Betts, "William James Archibald, 1912–2001." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Canada, Vol. XII, pp. 76–78, 2001.
Heighton, E.: Dr. Howard L. Bronson, Physicist. Printed Privately, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1990. 558 pp.
D. Kiang and R.H. March, "William James Archibald." Physics in Canada, Vol. 57, No. 4, July/August 2001.