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Mildred Spiewak Dresselhaus 1930-

Contributions Honors Additional Information

• M.S. Dresselhaus and J.G. Mavroides, "The Fermi Surface of Graphite," IBM Journal of Research and Development 8: 262 (1964).

• P.R. Schroeder, M.S. Dresselhaus, and A. Javan, "Location of Electron and Hole Carriers in Graphite from Laser Magnetoreflection Data," Physical Review Letters 20: 1292 (1968).

Assignment is made of holes and electrons in the Brillouin Zone. There are many other papers in our group and elsewhere giving further refinements and extensions of this work. This paper turned the band structure upside-down, as it has remained ever since.

• M.S. Dresselhaus and J.G. Mavroides, "Observation of Interband Transitions in Antimony," Physical Review Letters 14: 259 (1965).

New information given on electronic structure and Fermi surface for antimony.

• M. Maltz and M.S. Dresselhaus, "Magnetoreflection Studies in Arsenic," Physical Review Letters 182: 741(1969).

The electronic structure and Fermi surface of arsenic is discussed based on magentoreflection and other experiments.

• M.S. Dresselhaus, "Electronic Properties of the Group V Semimetals," in Proceedings of the Conference on the Physics of Semimetals and Narrow Gap Semiconductors. Edited by D.L. Carter and R.T. Bate. New York: Pergamon Press, 1970.

A review article on electronic properties of Group V semimetals that has been useful to the development of the field.

• G. Dresselhaus and M.S. Dresselhaus, "Fourier Expansion for the Electronic Energy Bands in Germanium," Physical Review 160: 649 (1967).

Presents methods based on symmetry for using experiments to yield the electronic stucture of a semiconductor with specific application made to silicon and germanium. This work was rediscovered by quite a few authors since 1967.

• R. P. Silberstein. L.E. Schmutz, V.J. Tekippe, R.L. Aggarwal, and M.S. Dresselhaus, "Magnetic Phase Dependent Raman Scattering in EuSe and EuTe," Solid State Commun. 18: 1173 (1976).

This paper shows how the magnetic phase diagram of a magnetic semiconductor can be determined from Raman scattering experiments. We have published a number of other papers on the subject of magnetic semiconductors, but this one was most influential.

We studied many aspects of graphite intercalation compounds for about a decade (1976-1986), covering structural, vibrational, electronic, magnetic, and superconducting properties, and there are many papers.

• M.S. Dresselhaus and G. Dresselhaus, "Intercalation Compounds of Graphite," Advances in Physics 30: 139 (1981).

This review article summarizes work in our group and elsewhere, has influenced the field significantly, and is currently still used as a standard reference to the field.

• M.S. Dresselhaus, G. Dresselhaus, K. Sugihara, I.L. Spain, and H.A. Goldberg, Graphite Fibers and Filaments. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1988. Vol. 5 of Springer Series in Materials Science.

This book is a standard reference in the field. Reference is made to many of our papers in this field.

• M.S. Dresselhaus and R. Kalish, Ion Implantation in Diamond, Graphite and Related Materials. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1992. Vol. 22 of Springer Series in Materials Science.

This book reviews what has been learned from ion implantation in carbon-based materials. Reference is made to many papers on the subject of ion implantation in graphite and graphite-related papers.

In addition to carbon fibers, we have extensively studied liquid carbon, porous carbons, and other novel forms of carbon which relate to graphite.

• J. Steinbeck, G. Braunstein, M.S. Dresselhaus, T. Venkatesan, and D.C. Jacobson, "A Model for Pulsed Laser Melting of Graphite," Journal of Applied Physics 58: 4374 (1985).

As an example of this type of work, this paper reviews experiments on liquid carbon and a model to explain observations. We are still very active in the study of novel carbons.

• M.S. Dresselhaus, G. Dresselhaus, and P.C. Eklund, Sciences of Fullerenes and Carbon Nanotubes. San Diego: Academic Press, 1996.

This thick book reviews the whole field and refers to the many papers we have written on these topics. We are still very active in the field.

• L.D. Hicks and M.S. Dresselhaus, "The Effect of Quantum Well Structures of the Thermoelectric Figure of Merit." Physical Review, B47: 12727-12731 (1993).

This paper presents model calculations showing that thermoelectricity can be enhanced by use of reduced dimensionality, as in a quantum well.

• L.D. Hicks, T.C. Harman, X.Sun, and M.S. Dresselhaus, "Experimental Study of the Effect of Quantum-Well Structures on the Thermoelectric Figure of Merit." Physical Review, B Rapid 53, R10493-R10496(1996).

Experimental evidence for enhanced thermoelectricity in quantum well structures is presented. We are still very active in this field.

Honors

1951-52 Fulbright Fellowship, Newnham College, Cambridge University.
1958-60 Post-Doctoral Fellowship, National Science Foundation, Cornell University.
1974 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
1975-78 Member, National Academy of Sciences' Executive Committee of Physics and Math Sciences.
1976 Honorary Doctorate, Worcester Polytechnical Institute
1977 Society of Women Engineers Annual Achievement Award
1978-83 Chair, Steering Committee Evaluation Panels, National Bureau of Standards
1980 Honorary D.Sc., Smith College
1982 Honorary D.Sc., Hunter College
1984 President, American Physical Society
1984 Honorary D.Sc., New Jersey Institute of Technology
1985 Named Institute Professor at MIT, a lifetime appointment held by no more than twelve active MIT professors.
1985-89 Board of Directors, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1987-90 Chair, English Section, National Academy of Sciences
1988 Annual Achievement Award, English Societies of New England
1988 Doctorat Honoris Causa, U. Catholique de Louvain
1989 Honorary D.Sc., Rutgers University
1990 National Medal of Science
1992 Honorary D.Sc., University of Massachusetts, Boston
1992 Honorary D.Sc., University of Connecticut
1992 Honorary D.Sc., Princeton University
1993 D. Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
1993 Doctora Honoris Causa, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria
1994 Honorary Doctorate, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa
1996 Member, American Philosophical Society
1998 President, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Senior Member, Society of Women Engineers

Jobs/Positions

1960-67, Staff Position, Lincoln Laboratory, MA
1967, Abby Rockefeller Mauze Visiting Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1968-73, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1972-74, Associate Department Head, Electronic Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1973-85 Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor
1977-83, Director, Center of Material Sciences and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1983-85, Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1985-present, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Consultant, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, MA
2000-present, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science

Education

B.A. Hunter College 1951
M.S. Radcliffe College 1953
Ph.D. University of Chicago 1958

Sources and References consulted

Professor Mildred Dresselhaus and [1CC N20], [cwsa1979in]

At MIT, Laurence Rockefeller and the Rockefeller Brothers' Fund each contributed $200,000 to endow a faculty position for a woman in honor of their sister, Abby Rockefeller Mauze. At first, the position went to visiting professors (1963-1972), but since 1973 it has been held by a woman professor interested in furthering the careers of women undergraduates. Dresselhaus held the position from 1973 to 1985.

She is married to Gene Dresselhaus and they have four children - Marianne, Carl, Paul and Eliot.

As the mother of four children, Dresselhaus began a Women's Forum to address problems faced by working women.

"All the hardships I encountered provided me with the determination, capacity for hard work, efficiency, and a positive outlook on life that have been so helpful to me in realizing my professional career." -- Mildred Dresselhaus [cwsa1979in]

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