(MSc) degree in Physics from McGill in 1920. He was awarded 1851 Research Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to study at Caius College, Cambridge, and joined the Cavendish Laboratory as a research student. There worked with Sir Ernest Rutherford, studying the bombardment of the atom with alpha particles. A 1921 paper with James Chadwick on The Collisions of Particles with Hydrogen Nuclei, has been hailed by Abraham Pais as "marking the birth of the strong interactions". Biéler's insights into the strong interaction that bound the atomic nucleus together were presented in hisDoctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, titled The Law of Force in the Immediate Neighbourhood of the Atomic Nucleus, which he completed under the supervision of James Chadwick in 1923. In his thesis, Biéler attempted to explain the apparent breakdown of the inverse square law in the vicinity of the nucleus. By studying the scattering of alpha particles by aluminum and magnesium, he showed that the strong interaction varied with the fourth power of the distance. Geophysics Returning to Canada, Biéler accepted an appointment as assistant professor of physics at McGill. He became a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada of 1924, although he never conducted any research into astronomy or astrophysics. He developed an interest in geophysics, and attempted to develop electrical methods for detecting hidden ore bodies, carrying out experiments in northern Quebec and Ontario in 1926 and 1927. This research attracted widespread attention, and the Empire Marketing Board established an Imperial Geophysical Experimental Survey to try out various methods of ore detection, with Arthur Broughton Edge as its director. Biéler was given two years' leave from McGill to become its deputy director. After negotiations between the Empire Marketing Board and the Australian government, it was agreed that the survey be conducted in Australia rather than Canada or South Africa. Biéler arrived in Australia in July 1928, and inspected areas in South Australia before moving on to Western Australia, where he was joined by Alexander Ross from the University of Western Australia and Alexander Rankine from Imperial College London. In July 1929 Biéler took a train to Northampton, but only got as far as Geraldton when he fell ill. He was taken to Geraldton Hospital, where he died of pneumonia on 28 July 1929. His papers are in the McGill University archives. Notes References 1895 births 1929 deaths McGill University Faculty