A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, considered by many to be the "queen of carbon science" for her work on the atomic properties of the element, has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Mildred Dresselhaus, a professor of physics and electrical engineering, has already been honored with the National Medal of Science and the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, among other awards.
She is being awarded the presidential medal, the nation's highest civilian honor, for "deepening our understanding of condensed matter systems and the atomic properties of carbon, which has contributed to major advances in electronics and materials research," the White House said in a statement.
Her work on carbon has paved the way for work that has won two Nobel Prizes for other researchers and earned her the nickname "godmother of graphene," carbon sheets just one atom thick expected to revolutionize electronics.
Born in Brooklyn in 1930, Dresselhaus attended Hunter College with the thought of becoming a teacher, but switched to scientific studies, doing graduate work in physics at the University of Chicago.
She joined the Lincoln Lab at MIT in the 1960s.
The White House, in announcing the award, called Dresselhaus "one of the most prominent physicists, materials scientists, and electrical engineers of her generation."
She joins another MIT professor emeritus, economist Robert Solow, as one of 19 winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom announced by President Barack Obama.
Solow was being honored for "research in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s [that] transformed the field, laying the groundwork for much of modern economics," the White House statement said.
MIT President L. Rafael Reif noted both had previously received numerous professional honors, including achieving the rank of Institute Professor Emeritus, the highest distinction granted by the MIT faculty.
"But the Presidential Medal of Freedom is different: In receiving it, Millie and Bob demonstrate that their approach to scholarship -- bold, rigorous, highly creative, and actively applied to the problems of the world -- represents citizenship in the highest sense," Reif said. "We could not be more grateful for all they have given us, and the world, as scholars, teachers, colleagues, and friends."
Also among the group announced as being honored with the presidential medal are news anchor Tom Brokaw, actress Meryl Streep, musician Stevie Wonder and the late dancer Alvin Ailey.
"I look forward to presenting these nineteen bold, inspiring Americans with our Nation's highest civilian honor," President Obama said.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the White House on Nov. 24.
