Mildred Dresselhaus
[''Mildred Dresselhaus'' was elected in 1974](_blank)
as a member of National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
in Electronics, Communication & Information Systems Engineering and Materials Engineering for contributions to the experimental studies of metals
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typical ...
and semimetals
A semimetal is a material with a very small overlap between the bottom of the conduction band and the top of the valence band.
According to electronic band theory, solids can be classified as insulators, semiconductors, semimetals, or metals. ...
, and to education. (' Spiewak; November 11, 1930 – February 20, 2017),
known as the "Queen of Carbon Science",
[Queen of Carbon Science](_blank)
''U.S. News & World Report''. By Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation. July 27, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012. was an American
nanotechnologist. She was an
Institute Professor and Professor Emerita of physics and electrical engineering at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
. Dresselhaus won numerous awards including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
, the
National Medal of Science, the
Enrico Fermi Award and the
Vannevar Bush Award
The National Science Board established the Vannevar Bush Award ( ) in 1980 to honor Vannevar Bush's unique contributions to public service. The annual award recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technolog ...
.
Early life and education
Dresselhaus was born on November 11, 1930, in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York City, the daughter of Ethel (Teichtheil) and Meyer Spiewak, who were Polish Jewish immigrants. Her family was heavily affected by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
so from a young age Dresselhaus helped provide income for the family by doing piecework assembly tasks at home and by working in a zipper factory during the summer.
As a grade school student, Dresselhaus' first 'teaching job' was tutoring a special-needs student for fifty cents a week, and she learned how to be a good teacher.
Dresselhaus credited New York's free museums, including the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...
and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, with sparking her interest in science.
She and her brother, Irving Spiewak, were scholarship students at the
Greenwich House Music School which introduced her to a different world of musical, artistic and intellectual leanings.
Dresselhaus was raised and attended grade school in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. Her older brother informed her of the opportunity to apply to
Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School is a secondary school located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is administered by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Hunter is publicly funded, and there ...
, where she excelled and gained practice as a teacher by tutoring fellow students.
Experience at Hunter College
Dresselhaus attended
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...
in New York. Traditionally a women's college, during Dresselhaus's time as a student there, Hunter College's Bronx campus opened itself to a flood of male
G.I. Bill beneficiaries. Dresselhaus later explained:
The boys in the science classes were toward the bottom of the class... They always used to come to me for help.... That might be somewhat significant in my story, because I ''never'' got the idea in college that science was a man's profession.
While attending Hunter, one of her professors, and future Nobel-Prize-winner
Rosalyn Yalow took interest in Dresselhaus and encouraged her to apply for graduate fellowships and pursue a career in physics. Dresselhaus graduated with her undergraduate degree in liberal arts in 1951.
After College
She carried out postgraduate study at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
on a
Fulbright Fellowship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
, where she received her MA from
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and h ...
. She received a PhD from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1958 where she studied under Nobel laureate
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" an ...
. She then spent two years at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
as a postdoc before moving to
Lincoln Lab
The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...
as a staff member.
Career and legacy
Dresselhaus had a 57-year career at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
.
She became the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Visiting Professor of electrical engineering at MIT in 1967, became a tenured faculty member in 1968, and became a professor of physics in 1983. In 1985, she was appointed the first female
Institute Professor at MIT As the exotic compounds she studied became increasingly relevant to modern science and engineering, she was uniquely positioned to become a world-leading expert and write one of the standard textbooks. Her groundwork in the field led to
Andre Geim
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Sochi, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
, death_date =
, death_place =
, workplaces =
, nationality = Dutch and British
, fields = Condensed matter physics
, ...
and
Konstantin Novoselov isolating and characterizing graphene, for which they were awarded the
2010 Nobel Prize.
Dresselhaus was awarded the
National Medal of Science in 1990 in recognition of her work on electronic properties of materials as well as expanding the opportunities of women in science and engineering. In 2005 she was awarded the 11th Annual
Heinz Award in the category of Technology, the Economy and Employment. In 2008, she was awarded the
Oersted Medal. In 2012, she was co-recipient of the
Enrico Fermi Award, along with
Burton Richter, and was awarded the
Kavli Prize
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 as a joint venture of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation. It honors, supports, and recognizes scientists for outstan ...
"for her pioneering contributions to the study of phonons, electron-phonon interactions, and thermal transport in nanostructures." In 2014, she was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
and was inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2015, she received the
IEEE Medal of Honor
The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contributi ...
.
In 2000–2001, she was the director of the Office of Science at the
U.S. Department of Energy. From 2003 to 2008, she was the chair of the governing board of the
American Institute of Physics. She also has served as president of the
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
, the first female president of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, and treasurer of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
.
Her former students include such notable materials scientists as
Deborah Chung
Deborah Duen Ling Chung (professionally known as D.D.L. Chung, ) is an American scientist and university professor.
Early life and education
Chung was born and raised in Hong Kong. Her mother was Rebecca Chan Chung (United States World War II ...
and physicists as
Nai-Chang Yeh
Nai-Chang Yeh (; born 1961) is a Taiwanese-American physicist specializing in experimental condensed matter physics.
Early life and education
She was born and grew up in Chiayi, Taiwan and received her B. Sc. from National Taiwan University i ...
and
Greg Timp
Gregory Louis Timp is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Timp has previously worked at Bell Laboratories and the University of I ...
.
There are several physical theories named after Dresselhaus. The
Hicks-Dresselhaus Model (
L. D. Hicks and Dresselhaus) is the first basic model for low-dimensional thermoelectrics, which initiated the whole band field. The SFDD model (
Riichiro Saito,
Mitsutaka Fujita
was a Japanese physicist. He proposed the edge state that is unique to
graphene
Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure. ,
Gene Dresselhaus
Gene Frederick Dresselhaus (November 7, 1929, Ancón, Panama – September 29, 2021, California)biographical information from ''American Men and Women of Science'', Thomson Gale 2004 was an American condensed matter physicist. He is known as a pio ...
, and Mildred Dresselhaus)
first predicted the band structures of carbon nanotubes. The
Dresselhaus effect refers, however, to the
spin–orbit interaction
In quantum physics, the spin–orbit interaction (also called spin–orbit effect or spin–orbit coupling) is a relativistic interaction of a particle's spin with its motion inside a potential. A key example of this phenomenon is the spin–orb ...
effect modeled by
Gene Dresselhaus
Gene Frederick Dresselhaus (November 7, 1929, Ancón, Panama – September 29, 2021, California)biographical information from ''American Men and Women of Science'', Thomson Gale 2004 was an American condensed matter physicist. He is known as a pio ...
, Mildred Dresselhaus's husband.
Dresselhaus devoted a great deal of time to supporting efforts to promote increased participation of women in physics. In 1971, Dresselhaus and a colleague organized the first Women's Forum at MIT as a seminar exploring the roles of women in science and engineering. In honor of her legacy, the
American Physical Society (APS) created th
Millie Dresselhaus Fundto support and empower women in physics. Dresselhaus was the face of a 2017
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
television advertisement which asked the question "What if female scientists were celebrities?" aimed to increase the number of women in
STEM
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
roles in its ranks.
In 2019, the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Board of Directors created the IEEE Mildred Dresselhaus Medal, awarded annually "for outstanding technical contributions in science and engineering, of great impact to IEEE fields of interest."
Contributions to scientific knowledge
Dresselhaus was particularly noted for her work on
graphite
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on la ...
, graphite
intercalation compounds,
fullerene
A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecule may be a hollow sphere, ...
s,
carbon nanotube
A scanning tunneling microscopy image of a single-walled carbon nanotube
Rotating single-walled zigzag carbon nanotube
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with diameters typically measured in nanometers.
''Single-wall carbon na ...
s, and low-dimensional
thermoelectrics. Her group made frequent use of electronic band structure,
Raman scattering
Raman scattering or the Raman effect () is the inelastic scattering of photons by matter, meaning that there is both an exchange of energy and a change in the light's direction. Typically this effect involves vibrational energy being gained by ...
and the
photophysics of carbon nanostructures.
Her research helped develop technology based on thin graphite which allow electronics to be "everywhere," including clothing and
smartphones
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
.
With the appearance of lasers in the 1960s, Dresselhaus started to use lasers for magneto-optics experiments, which later led to the creation of a new model for the electronic structure of graphite. A great part of her research dedicates to the study of 'buckyballs' and graphene focusing a great deal in the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and enhancing thermoelectric properties of nanowires.
Personal life
Her first husband was physicist
Frederick Reif
Frederick Reif (April 24, 1927 – August 11, 2019) was an American physicist. He was an emeritus professor in physics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.
Biography
Reif was born in Vienna, Austria on April 24, 1927, to Gerschon and K ...
. She was then married to Gene Dresselhaus, a well known theoretician and discoverer of the
Dresselhaus effect. They had four children - Marianne, Carl, Paul, and Eliot - and five grandchildren.
Honors and awards
*Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from the
ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, a ...
, 2015
*
IEEE Medal of Honor
The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contributi ...
, 2015 (first female recipient)
*
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...
induction 2014
*
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
, 2014
*Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 2013
*
Von Hippel Award,
Materials Research Society
The Materials Research Society (MRS) is a non-profit, professional organization for materials researchers, scientists and engineers. Established in 1973, MRS is a member-driven organization of approximately 14,000 materials researchers from academi ...
, 2013
*
Kavli Prize
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 as a joint venture of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation. It honors, supports, and recognizes scientists for outstan ...
in Nanoscience, 2012
*
Enrico Fermi Award (second female recipient), 2012
*
Vannevar Bush Award
The National Science Board established the Vannevar Bush Award ( ) in 1980 to honor Vannevar Bush's unique contributions to public service. The annual award recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technolog ...
(second female recipient), 2009
*
, 2009
*
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, American Physical Society, 2008
*
Oersted Medal, 2007
*
L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science, 2007
*
Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment, 2005
*
IEEE Founders Medal Recipients, 2004
*
Karl Taylor Compton
Karl Taylor Compton (September 14, 1887 – June 22, 1954) was a prominent American physicist and president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1930 to 1948.
The early years (1887–1912)
Karl Taylor Compton was born in ...
Medal for Leadership in Physics, American Institute of Physics, 2001
*Medal of Achievement in Carbon Science and Technology, American Carbon Society, 2001
*Honorary Member of the
Ioffe Institute
The Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (for short, Ioffe Institute, russian: Физико-технический институт им. А. Ф. Иоффе) is one of Russia's largest research centers specialized ...
, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2000
*National Materials Advancement Award of the Federation of Materials Societies, 2000
*Honorary Doctorate from the
Catholic University of Leuven
University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to:
* Old University of Leuven (1425–1797)
* State University of Leuven (1817–1835)
* Catholic University of L ...
, Belgium, February 2000
*Nicholson Medal,
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
, March 2000
*
Weizmann Institute
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli u ...
's Millennial Lifetime Achievement Award, June 2000
*SGL Carbon Award, American Carbon Society, 1997
*Member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, 1995
*
National Medal of Science, 1990
*Member of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
(U.S.), 1985
*Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, 1974
*
Society of Women Engineers
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is an international not-for-profit educational and service organization. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in the United States, the Society of Women Engineers is a major advocate for women in STEM, women in e ...
Achievement Award, 1977
*Fellow,
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick Unive ...
Selected publications
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References
External links
Freeview video interview with Mildred Dresslhaus by the Vega Science TrustHomepage*
"What if female scientists were celebrities?" GE advertisement (2017)
*
Mildred Dresselhaus Video produced by ''
Makers: Women Who Make America''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dresselhaus, Mildred S.
1930 births
2017 deaths
American nanotechnologists
American women physicists
American women engineers
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Physics
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Enrico Fermi Award recipients
L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates
National Medal of Science laureates
MIT School of Engineering faculty
Radcliffe College alumni
Hunter College alumni
Hunter College High School alumni
University of Chicago alumni
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American materials scientists
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People from Brooklyn
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Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Scientists from New York (state)
Kavli Prize laureates in Nanoscience
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winners
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Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
20th-century American women
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Presidents of the American Physical Society