Millie as Mentor, Role Model and Inspiration

The physics community lost the celebrated physicist Mildred Dresselhaus ( Millie ) on February 20, 2017. Millie was an inspiration and role model to me as well as to many women and men in physics. I met Millie, the first female professor I had ever met, during my first week as an entering freshman at M.I.T. in 1969. She was a fantastic role model for me and other female students. Later on, Millie’s active and generous mentoring of many graduate students in the physics and electrical engineering departments both inside and outside of her own big group was extremely helpful to generations of students, both men and women. I will describe some of Millie’s efforts and activities over the years that greatly advanced the opportunities for women students, professors and employees at M.I.T.