‘Queen of Carbon Science’ kicks off School of Engineering speaker series

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Mildred “Millie” Dresselhaus, Ph.D., who is known as the “Queen of Carbon Science,” regaled a full audience on Oct. 20 at Virginia Commonwealth University with discoveries, setbacks and triumphs of her 50-year adventure with nanoscience.

The 83-year-old pioneer in carbon nanomaterials kicked off the VCU School of Engineering Speaker Series by explaining the importance of nanoscience — the manipulation of matter on an atomic level — and how her illustrious career began despite a humble upbringing.

“Growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood, I didn’t know anyone who had been to college except the schoolteacher,” she said of her early life in Brooklyn. “You can start anyplace and get anywhere. It just depends on what you make of problems and setbacks.”

You can start anyplace and get anywhere. It just depends on what you make of problems and setbacks.

Currently an institute professor at MIT in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Physics, Dresselhaus’ research in the areas of carbon nanotubes, bismuth nanostructures and low-dimensional thermoelectricity has ignited the collective interest of the scientific community for decades.

She has served as director of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and president of the American Physical Society and received numerous awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science, the Fermi Award, the Kavli Prize and 31 honorary doctorates worldwide. She is the co-author of eight books and approximately 1,700 papers on carbon science.

When Dresselhaus began her foray into the science of small things in the 1950s, the “nanoworld” was undeveloped territory. The larger implications of her ongoing research include exploring how the energy demands of future generations will be met. Nanomaterials may be able to affect the future of everything from medicine and biomaterials to energy production and electronics.

“Even our president believes in science,” Dresselhaus said of the importance of supporting STEM education. “He would like to put more money into science, I heard from him a few times when we met in the Oval Office.”

As a woman completing her Ph.D. in 1958, one year after the launching of Sputnik, Dresselhaus also faced adversity in a highly male-dominated field. In 1973 she received a Carnegie Foundation grant to encourage women's study in traditionally male-populated fields such as physics. That same year, Dresselhaus was also appointed to the Abby Rockefeller Mauze chair, an institutewide chair endowed in support of the scholarship of women in science and engineering.

Of her fellow women colleagues in engineering, Dresselhaus said, “When we were young, nobody ever imagined we would be doing what we are doing now. So everything imaginable is possible. Just put your mind to it and you will succeed.”

Dresselhaus’ talk concluded with a brief question-and-answer session from VCU students and attendees. Before the lecture disbanded, Barbara Boyan, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering, presented her with a gift of appreciation on behalf of the school.

“In the next decade we will probably be closer to being on the nanoscale,” said Dresselhaus. “We have a whole new world opening up.”

 

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