IEEE Awards Booklet - 2015 - 15

2015 ieee medals

IEEE Medal of Honor
Sponsored by the IEEE Foundation

mildred s. dresselhaus

For leadership and contributions across many fields of science
and engineering

With innovations that have helped mold the history of advancements in science, technology, and education in the United States
and around the world, Mildred Dresselhaus has paved the way for
the rise of nanotechnology and blazed a path for women in science and engineering. Known as the "queen of carbon science"
based on her life-long research into the properties of graphite
and carbon-based materials, the era of carbon electronics can
be traced back to her tireless research efforts. During the 1960s,
Dr. Dresselhaus was a pioneer in researching carbon, one of the
most abundant elements, and its thermal and electrical properties
when no one else seemed interested in its potential. She used
magnetoreflection spectroscopy to determine the graphite band
structure, which led to the currently accepted band model for
graphite.
Her insights regarding the composition, structure, and properties of graphite have encouraged bold new research into
single-atom-thick graphene. Graphene has potential practical
applications in high-speed electronics circuits and systems. In the
late 1970s she made important contributions to understanding
the structure of graphite intercalation compounds. The work of
her group on fullerenes and carbon nanotubes began in the early
1990s before these structures were well known. She also demonstrated the symmetry of single-wall nanotubes and how one
could calculate their electronic structure. Her work on nanotubes continues today, including the important contribution of
the measurement of Raman spectroscopy on isolated single-wall

carbon nanotubes. Her recent work on the semiconductive
properties of carbon nanotubes opens new possibilities in nanotechnology, and other recent research holds exciting promise for
energy-related applications.
Dr. Dresselhaus' public advocacy for women in engineering and science began in the mid-1970s, when the number of
American women seeking undergraduate degrees in engineering
began to rise. Recognizing this as an issue of great importance
for the profession, Dr. Dresselhaus began actively speaking out in
favor of women's access to careers in technology and science. Her
unquestioned accomplishments in the laboratory and classroom
gave her an unparalleled credibility in this national dialogue. Her
1975 article "Some Personal Views on Engineering Education for
Women" (IEEE Transactions on Education) remains an immensely
valuable and accurate account of the psychological and social
challenges facing women in a male-dominated field. The article
also stressed the critical importance of role models for women
engineering students, which Dr. Dresselhaus herself has certainly
served as through mentoring, formally and informally, countless
young women across the United States and around the world.
An IEEE Life Fellow and member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Dresselhaus has received numerous
awards including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
She is currently an Institute Professor of Electrical Engineering
and Physics with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Scope: For an exceptional contribution or an extraordinary career in IEEE fields of interest
15 | 2015 IEEE AWARDS BOOKLET

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Awards Booklet - 2015