Samuel Francis Boys facts for kids

Samuel Francis (Frank) Boys (born December 20, 1911 – died October 16, 1972) was a very smart British scientist. He was a theoretical chemist, which means he used math and physics to understand how chemicals work.

Early Life and Learning

Frank Boys was born in a town called Pudsey in Yorkshire, England. He went to school in Pudsey and then studied Chemistry at Imperial College London.

Later, he went to University of Cambridge to get his PhD. A PhD is a very high university degree. His research was about "The Quantum Theory of Optical Rotation." This means he studied how light interacts with chemicals at a very tiny level.

Working as a Scientist

In 1938, Frank Boys started working at Queen's University Belfast. When Second World War started, he worked on making explosives safer for the Ministry of Supply.

After the war, he moved to Imperial College London. Then, in 1949, he became a teacher of theoretical chemistry at the University of Cambridge. He stayed there for the rest of his life.

Frank Boys is famous for a big idea called Gaussian orbitals. These are special mathematical tools that help scientists understand how electrons behave in molecules. Almost all modern computer programs that study chemistry use his ideas. He was also one of the first scientists to use early digital computers to do complex calculations about molecules.

Years after his death, in 1995, a special meeting was held at St Catharine's College, Cambridge to remember his important work.

Awards and Special Honours

Frank Boys was a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. This is a group of top scientists who study quantum chemistry.

In 1972, just a few months before he passed away, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honour for scientists in the United Kingdom.