Joseph A. Boyd, educator, scientist and business executive, was born in Oscar, Ballard County, Kentucky. He earned his Bachelor of Science in 1946 and Master of Science in 1949 in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky. He held a position on the UK faculty while working on his graduate degree and, in 1950, he joined the electrical engineering faculty at the University of Michigan. Dr. Boyd received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1954.