The Dresselhaus Lecture series is named in honor of Mildred "Millie" Dresselhaus, a beloved MIT professor whose research helped unlock the mysteries of carbon, the most fundamental of organic elements—earning her the nickname “queen of carbon science.” This annual event recognizes a significant figure in science and engineering from anywhere in the world whose leadership and impact echo Millie’s life, accomplishments, and values.
We are now accepting nominations for the 2025 Mildred S. Dresselhaus Lecturer!
Use the form below. Note that you will need to provide the following information:
- Nominee's name, title, and home institution/organization
- Link to the nominee's website
- Link to any articles or honors that help illuminate the nominee's career and impact
- In up to 200 words, a statement on why you are nominating the individual
The 2024 Mildred S. Dresselhaus Lecturer
Clare Grey, DBE, FRS
Royal Society Research Professor
Geoffrey Moorhouse-Gibson Professor of Chemistry
Cambridge University
DATE: Monday, November 18, 2024
TIME: 4PM - 5PM ET; Reception to follow
LOCATION: MIT Building 10 Room 250
ABOUT CLARE GREY
Clare P. Grey, DBE, FRS is a Royal Society Research Professor and the Geoffrey Moorhouse-Gibson Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge University. After receiving a BA and D. Phil. from Oxford University, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Nijmegen and at DuPont CR&D. She joined the faculty at Stony Brook University (SBU) as an Assistant (1994), Associate (1997) and then Full Professor (2001-2015). She moved to Cambridge in 2009, maintaining an adjunct position at SBU.
Grey was director of the Northeastern Chemical Energy Storage Centre, a U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Frontier Research Centre, (2009-2010) and then associate director (2011-2014). She is currently director of the EPSRC Centre for Advanced Materials for Integrated Energy Systems (CAM-IES). She is co-founder of Nyobolt, a battery fast-charging company. Her current research interests include the use of solid-state NMR and diffraction-based methods to determine structure-function relationships in materials for energy storage, conversion, and carbon capture. Recent honors and awards include the Hughes Medal (2020), the Körber European Science Prize (2021), and the ACS Central Science Disruptors & Innovators Prize (2022).
About Mildred S. Dresselhaus
Mildred "Millie" Dresselhaus was a beloved MIT professor whose research helped unlock the mysteries of carbon, the most fundamental of organic elements—earning her the nickname “queen of carbon science.” She is well-known for her work with graphene, fullerenes (also known as "buckyballs"), bismuth nanowires, and low dimensional thermoelectricity. She developed the concept of the "nanotube," a single-layer sheet of carbon atoms that is incredibly thin and yet incredibly strong.
With appointments in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Physics, Dresselhaus was a member of the MIT faculty for 50 years. In 1985 she was honored with the title of Institute Professor, an esteemed position held by no more than 12 MIT professors at one time. A winner of numerous awards, Dresselhaus was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience. She was inducted into the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Dresselhaus led MIT and her field not only through her research and teaching, but with her longstanding commitment to promoting gender equity in science and engineering and a dedication to mentorship and teaching. She received a Carnegie Foundation grant in 1973 to support her efforts to encourage women to enter traditionally male dominated fields of science and engineering.
In honor of Millie, MIT.nano hosts the Mildred S. Dresselhaus Lecture annually in November, the month of Millie's birthday. The event recognizes a significant figure in science and engineering from anywhere in the world whose leadership and impact echo Millie’s life, accomplishments, and values.
Read more about the previous Dresselhaus lecturers and watch their talk videos.