Mildred S. Dresselhaus
Personal Information
Born: 1930
Died: 2017
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
1951 BA Liberal Arts, Hunter College; MA Radcliffe College; PhD University of Chicago 1958; Uiversity of Cambridege Fullbright Fellowship, postgraduate work; Cornell University Postdoctorate work 2 years
Professional Life
Field of Study: Applied Physics
Institution/Corporation: MIT, Cornell
Degrees & Memberships: 27 honorary degrees including: ETH Zurich (2015), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2013), Catholic University of Leuven Belgium (2000); Member: American Institute of Physics, American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Sciences (1985), Ioffe Institute-Russian Academy of Science (2000), American Philosophical Society (1995), american Academy of Arts & Sciences (1974)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2015, IEEE Medal of Honor; 2012, Enrico Fermi Award (with Burton Richter); 2014, Presidential Medal of Freedom; 1990, National Medal of Science; 2009, Vannewar Bush Award; 2004, IEEE Founders Medal; 2005, Heinz Award in Technology, Economy & Employment; 2006, Harold Pender Award; 2008, Oliver E. buckley Condensed Matter Prize; 2008, Oersted Medal; 2012, Kavli Prize in Nanoscience; 2014, inducted into US National Inventors Hall of Fame; 2013, Von Hippel Award, Materials Research Society; 2009, ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences; 2007, L Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science; 2001, Karl Taylor Compton Medal for Leadership in Physics, American Institute of Physics; 2001, Medal of Achievement in Carbon Science & Technology, American Carbon Society; 2000, National Materials Advancement Award of the Federation of Materials Societies; 2000, Nicholson Medal, American Physical Association; 2000 Weitzman Institute s Millenial Lifetime Achievement Award; 1997, SGL Carbon Award, American Carbon Association; 1977, Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award; 2017, Benjamin Franklin Medal in Materials Science & Engineering; Fellow, Norwegian Academy of Sciences & Letters
Achievements: Superlattice Structures for Thermoelectric Devices; 1st female Institute Professor at MIT; did pioneering research in phonons, electron-phonon interactions & thermal transport in nanostructures; 1st female president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; physics theories: Hicks-Dresselhaus (1st basic model for low-dimensional thermoelectrics which initiated the whole band field with L.D.Hicks), Saito-Fujita-Dresselhaus Model (Riichiro Saito, Mitsutaka Fujita; Gene & Millie Dresselhaus; 1st predicted the band structures of carbon nanotubes; Tang-Dresselhaus Theory (Shuang Tang-1st methodology on systematically constructing anistropic Dirac cones in the BiSb materials system; 1971 she & a colleague organized the 1st Women s Forum at MIT; APS created the Millie Dresselhaus Fund to support women in physics in her honor; known for her work on graphite, graphite intercalation compounds, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, & low-dimensional thermoelectrics; study of bullyballs & graphene; 1st female recipient of IEEE Medal of Honor; 2nd female recipients of Enrico Fermi Award & Vinnewar Bush Award
Known as "The Queen of Carbon Science"
In grade school she was a tutor for a special needs student & earned 50 cents weekly
As a young child she did paperwork assembly tasks at home & worked in a zipper factory in the summer to help provide income for her family
Worked at MIT for 57 years
Several physical theories are named after her including: Hicks-Dresselhaus Model. Saito-Fujita-Dresselhaus Model, Dresselhaus Effect
She & a colleague organized the 1st Women's Forum at MIT in 1971 to explore the roles of women in science & engineering
1st female Institute Professor at MIT
1st female president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
1st female recipient of the IEEE Medal of Honor
Held 17 patents