Mildred Dresselhaus
Encyclopedia
Mildred S. Dresselhaus is an Institute Professor
and Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
Dresselhaus received her high school degree at Hunter College High School
, undergraduate degree at Hunter College
in New York, and carried out postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge
on a Fulbright Fellowship and Harvard University
. She received a PhD from the University of Chicago
in 1958. She then spent two years at Cornell University
as a postdoc before moving to Lincoln Lab as a staff member. She became a visiting professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT in 1967, became a tenured faculty member in 1968, and became a professor of Physics in 1983. She was promoted to Institute Professor
in 1985.
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. and in 2005 she was awarded the 11th Annual Heinz Award
in the category of Technology, the Economy and Employment. In 2000–2001, she was the Director of the Office of Science at the US Department of Energy. From 2003-2008, she was the Chair of the governing board of the American Institute of Physics
. She has also served as President of the American Physical Society
, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences
. Dresselhaus has devoted a great deal of time to supporting efforts to promote increased participation of women in physics.
Dresselhaus is particularly noted for her work on graphite
, graphite intercalation
compounds, fullerenes, carbon nanotube
s, and low dimensional thermoelectrics. Her group has made frequent use of electronic band structure, Raman scattering
and the photophysics of carbon nanostructures. Dresselhaus' former students include such notable physicists as Nai-Chang Yeh
, Greg Timp
, Mansour Shayegan, James S. Speck, Lourdes Salamanca Riba, and Ahmet Erbil.
She is married to Gene Dresselhaus, a well-known theorist, and has four grown children and several grandchildren.
Institute Professor
Institute Professor is the highest title that can be awarded to a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States...
and Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Dresselhaus received her high school degree at Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School is a New York City secondary school for intellectually gifted students located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It is administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York. Although it is not operated by the New York City Department of...
, undergraduate degree at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in New York, and carried out postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
on a Fulbright Fellowship and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She received a PhD from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1958. She then spent two years at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
as a postdoc before moving to Lincoln Lab as a staff member. She became a visiting professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT in 1967, became a tenured faculty member in 1968, and became a professor of Physics in 1983. She was promoted to Institute Professor
Institute Professor
Institute Professor is the highest title that can be awarded to a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States...
in 1985.
Dresselhaus was awarded the National Medal of Science
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
in 1990 in recognition of her work on electronic properties of materials as well as expanding the opportunities of women in science and engineering. and in 2005 she was awarded the 11th Annual Heinz Award
Heinz Award
The Heinz Award is an award currently given annually to ten honorees by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in the five areas of: Arts and Humanities, the Environment, the Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy...
in the category of Technology, the Economy and Employment. In 2000–2001, she was the Director of the Office of Science at the US Department of Energy. From 2003-2008, she was the Chair of the governing board of the American Institute of Physics
American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics promotes science, the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies...
. She has also served as President of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. Dresselhaus has devoted a great deal of time to supporting efforts to promote increased participation of women in physics.
Dresselhaus is particularly noted for her work on graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
, graphite intercalation
Intercalation (chemistry)
In chemistry, intercalation is the reversible inclusion of a molecule between two other molecules . Examples include DNA intercalation and graphite intercalation compounds.- DNA intercalation :...
compounds, fullerenes, carbon nanotube
Carbon nanotube
Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, significantly larger than for any other material...
s, and low dimensional thermoelectrics. Her group has made frequent use of electronic band structure, Raman scattering
Raman scattering
Raman scattering or the Raman effect is the inelastic scattering of a photon. It was discovered by Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman and Kariamanickam Srinivasa Krishnan in liquids, and by Grigory Landsberg and Leonid Mandelstam in crystals....
and the photophysics of carbon nanostructures. Dresselhaus' former students include such notable physicists as Nai-Chang Yeh
Nai-Chang Yeh
Professor Nai-Chang Yeh is a world renowned physicist specialized in experimental condensed matter physics.Her research emphasis is the fundamental physical properties of strongly correlated electronic systems. She is best known for her work on a variety of superconductors, magnetic materials, and...
, Greg Timp
Greg Timp
Gregory Louis Timp is a professor of electrical engineering 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 Illinois. He has worked with low temperature transport, nanostructure physics...
, Mansour Shayegan, James S. Speck, Lourdes Salamanca Riba, and Ahmet Erbil.
She is married to Gene Dresselhaus, a well-known theorist, and has four grown children and several grandchildren.