Ernest Wilmot Guptill (5 September 1919 – 20 March 1976) was a Canadian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. He spent his academic career at Dalhousie University, where he was department head for ten years. He was co-inventor of the slotted waveguide antenna.

Early life and education

Guptill, the son of a fisherman, was born in the village of Grand Harbour on

Grand Manan Island Grand Manan is a Canadian island in the Bay of Fundy. Grand Manan is also the name of an incorporated village, which includes the main island and all of its adjacent islands, except White Head Island. It is governed as a village and is part of t ...

. He attended

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The tow ...

, Nova Scotia as an undergraduate. After earning an Honours

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from Acadia, he studied at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

, where he earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree, and then went to

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

for his doctoral studies. He was awarded a PhD by McGill in 1946. His doctoral dissertation was entitled ''A Linear Accelerator for Electrons''.

The slotted waveguide antenna

Between 1942 and 1944 Guptill worked on radar research, in which McGill was collaborating with the Canadian

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

as part of the war effort. He was the co-inventor of the slotted waveguide antenna. The antennas were first used for the air defense of Great Britain. After the war the technology was adapted for use in ocean-going vessels, including small fishing boats. It was also used in NORAD's

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North Ame ...

, a series of radar stations built in Canada and the United States in the 1950s for the purpose of detecting Soviet bombers approaching North America. Guptill and co-inventor W.H. Watson were granted a United States patent for the device, described as a "directive antenna for microwaves", in 1951.

Career at Dalhousie University

Guptill began teaching at Dalhousie University in 1947. After a sabbatical year at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

he was named head of Dalhousie's physics department, a position he held for ten years before returning to teaching and research full-time. He was described as "that treasure, an excellent researcher and a gifted teacher". Among his research specialties were high frequency sound waves in liquid and low temperature physics.

Death and legacy

Guptill, an experienced sailor, died in a boating accident on 20 March 1976. He and a friend were out in rowboat on the

Northwest Arm The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. Geography Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0. ...

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

when the boat capsized. Guptill rescued his friend, a non-swimmer, and helped him to cling to the overturned boat, but by the time help arrived both men had died of

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

. He is commemorated by the annual "E.W. Guptill Memorial Lecture" series in Dalhousie's Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guptill, Ernest Wilmot 1919 births 1976 deaths Canadian physicists 20th-century Canadian inventors People from Grand Manan Acadia University alumni University of Western Ontario alumni McGill University alumni Dalhousie University faculty