on the properties of carbon. Millie fundamentally shaped our understanding of carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and more.And as if this wasn't enough, Millie was also a trailblazer for women in STEM and a beloved educator, mentor, and colleague.
That's a great question. So Millie had a very difficult childhood. In fact, when I was writing this book, one of the surprising things to me was just how much poverty she experienced as a child,
And so they were immigrants living in New York City during the Great Depression. And Millie 's family, for a number of reasons, they made ends meet at the very beginning. But then through some various unlucky circumstances became-- they ended up selling their business
Yeah, that's a good question. So Millie joined the MIT faculty later on. She joined them in 1967.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. And Millie started her career looking into graphite, which is essentially what you find in a pencil.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. And Millie was interested in the properties of carbon, specifically their conductivity.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. So Millie turned it around.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. So Millie 's background was in solid state physics.
And it was something fresh. And specifically seeing Millie Bobby Brown be the superhero, be the kick-butt girly, it was truly something that grasped me as a young kid.
So they lost everything. And so during Millie 's childhood, she was growing up in a tenement house, in kind of a dangerous neighborhood in the Bronx in New York City.
Yeah. And you sort of touched on it a little bit there. But what was Millie 's reaction in these situations? Like was it just, I need to kind of hunker down and keep going?
Or you wouldn't be able to do it. And so Millie 's personality really was to say, well, OK, you don't like me for one reason. I'm going to work around you, and I'm going to figure out a way to do what I need to do.
He also-- they worked together a little bit at the beginning, when they were both at Lincoln. And then when Millie went off to the MIT faculty, they still were in close contact, in terms of their research, but they weren't on all the papers together at the same time.
And he unfortunately, just passed away very recently and a few months ago. But he and Millie really had a wonderful career together as physicists. Yeah, it seems like they were really one of these teams that is really the team is more than the sum of the parts, which
is very impressive. Absolutely. Speaking on Millie 's sort of research efforts and the scientific contributions that she made, she was influential in our understanding of carbon, as you mentioned. What was her research area, and how did you kind of get drawn into it?
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. So when Millie started working in graphite was this 1970s.
Are we in 1942? And then Millie was one of those things where we just literally caught on to a shooting star. It was non-negotiable for me to have a deaf actress in the movie.
And as if this wasn't enough, Millie was also a trailblazer for women in STEM and a beloved educator, mentor, and colleague. We'll be digging into Millie 's inspiring story today. And throughout our discussion, you might have some great questions popping into your head.
But then through some various unlucky circumstances became-- they ended up selling their business to pursue an opportunity for Millie 's older brother. And then that opportunity sort of vanished right when they moved.
What were her family thinking about her prospects at this age and the opportunities that she had? So education was extremely important to Millie 's family. They knew that any opportunity that she had to become educated was something that they wanted her to take advantage of.
In fact, it was a wonderful thing. Hunter College was amazing for Millie . And in fact, many times she said that it was a turning point in her career.
So it could be very lonely. But I will say that Millie had this confidence that got her through, I think. And obviously, she also had other people in her life, just throughout her career, that gave her a little boost to convince her that she could keep going.
So starting pretty early in the 1870s and onward, but really until the 1960s, it was a bit haphazard. And one of the things that Millie did, when she did come onto the faculty, was work with others to look at how to support women and really help grow the presence of female students and also, female faculty members at MIT.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. And that was just so like Millie , just trying to encourage the next generation.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. So I first learned about Millie when I was a young science reporter at Discover magazine.
What would you-- Like I remember "Wicked" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie ," and like "Spring Awakening." And I would just listen to them and I would imagine.
Mais qui est d'accord pour faire ça ? Des plantes qui vivent des milliers d'années.
What was the situation like at that time for women at a university and specifically, women studying science? Great question. So Millie sort of had two strikes against her. One was that she was a girl at a time when girls were again not really given too many opportunities to go
that she could kind of tap into to go into a career in research or academia. So Rosalyn Yarrow really sort of put her arm around Millie , and they became-- they were-- it was almost an instant mentorship. And Rosalyn really pushed her to the point where Millie , in the book, she's quoted as saying,
So Rosalyn Yarrow really sort of put her arm around Millie , and they became-- they were-- it was almost an instant mentorship. And Rosalyn really pushed her to the point where Millie , in the book, she's quoted as saying, Rosalyn just kind of gave orders, and I did basically what she said.
Yeah, he also kind of shaped the way that she thinks about science, in general. He sort of had this broad learning approach that Millie then encouraged her students, as well, to take on. How important was that, in terms of the later success that Millie would have in science?
Can you speak a little bit about that, about what it was like to be a woman in science at Radcliffe? Sure. So Millie spent a year at Radcliffe. She was interested in physics, at the time.
And they had four children together. But they were doing that at a time when Millie and Gene were really starting their careers as well. And I'll just give one anecdote, which kind of gives you a sense of this support that Gene always gave to Millie .
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. But I mean, Millie was brilliant.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. And said he said, Millie , you're going to ruin your career if you publish this.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. Yeah. And so Millie 's story, as we've kind of seen, has these remarkable arcs to it.
So her grandfather actually, he studied carbon, in the sense that he was a diamond dealer. What was your kind of journey to finding Millie and wanting to write a story about her?
You've been on Broadway for over 20 years as a performer, a dance captain, and associate choreographer. Prior to "Beautiful," you worked on "Anything Goes," "Grease," "Thoroughly Modern Millie ," "Cabaret," "Pajama Games," and "Cats." And Stacey, you are the assistant stage manager.
ordinary women it has happened to me walking through the slums of kampala they noticed these gorgeous beads that one woman was sitting on the ground making her name was millie and they asked millie if she had any other beads and so millie ran into her hut and she walked back out and she had beads on around all her arms and
and virtually none in science. Yet over the course of a stunning career, Millie became a pioneering scientist and engineer, whose work led to highly influential discoveries on the properties of carbon.
Millie fundamentally shaped our understanding of carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and more.And as if this wasn't enough, Millie was also a trailblazer for women in STEM and a beloved educator, mentor, and colleague. We'll be digging into Millie 's inspiring story today.
And she was also a brilliant physicist. And she, Yarrow saw in Millie Dresselhaus immediately that she was also this brilliant woman who didn't really know about the opportunities that she could kind of tap into to go into a career in research or academia.
help grow the presence of female students and also, female faculty members at MIT. Yeah, and you mentioned there Millie 's partner, Gene Dresselhaus. And they have quite a remarkable relationship on a personal level.
Well, I'll go somewhere else. I will give up my faculty position because he clearly saw that Millie had-- she was brilliant. And she had an opportunity to have her own research career.
Noah learned-- I think he might be fluent in ASL. But the way it's dealt with, with Millie 's character, the way that it's mixed throughout, the dynamic level,
Maia is here with us today to discuss her new book, Carbon Queen-- The Remarkable Life of Nanoscience Pioneer, Mildred Dresselhaus. As a girl in New York City in the 1940s, Mildred "Millie " Dresselhaus was taught that there were few career options for women and virtually none in science.
Can you start by telling us who she is and what she's known for? Sure, absolutely. Millie Dresselhaus was a long time physicist and electrical engineer and materials scientists at MIT, where I now work. She is known as "The Queen of Carbon" or "Queen of Carbon Science" because her career focused on understanding the properties of carbon and other materials.
And so that's one of the themes of the book is just overcoming these odds and kind of paying back to society later. Yeah. Yeah, and you mentioned there that Millie has this older brother, and there was this opportunity that the family was seeking that kind of ended up vanishing. What were her family thinking about her prospects at this age and the opportunities that she had?
He sort of had this broad learning approach that Millie then encouraged her students, as well, to take on. How important was that, in terms of the later success that Millie would have in science? Yeah, Fermi definitely gave her a sense of, quote, unquote, "thinking like a physicist." She felt that many of his lessons of understanding,
But I also want to hear a little bit about their relationship as physicists, because Gene Dresselhaus was also a physicist as well. Yeah, so Gene was incredibly remarkable for being supportive of Millie and her career. And they work together, really, in so many ways.