Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf joined U.Va. as a professor of engineering physics in 1963, when the University's undergraduate student body was predominantly male and students attended class in coats and ties. She was the first woman named as a full professor outside the School of Nursing.

"The first 25 years weren't easy," Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf said. She had no problems with the students back then. In fact, many of her graduate students remain life-long friends. One of them, William A. Jesser, is now chairman of the Department of Materials Science. Another recently gave the Engineering School a $15 million gift in honor of Doris and her husband, Heinz. While a few colleagues warmed to her presence as well, others went out of their way to pull up the welcome mat.

"I had to make sure I did everything by the book, because people were just waiting for me to trip up," she recalled.

How times have changed.

Last May, the U.Va. Patent Foundation named Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, 79, as the Christopher J. Henderson 2001 Inventor of the Year. The award recognized her research and six patented inventions relating to electrical brushes, which are critical parts of most motors and generators. The brushes establish internal electrical connections between the machinery's fixed and rotating parts.

Her colleagues at the University - where women now make up more than half of the full-time teaching and research faculty and more than half of the undergraduate student body - are pleased at her recognition.

"Doris is a special person. She sets the standard for world class excellence as an educator, researcher and mentor to students and faculty colleagues alike," said Richard Miksad, dean of the Engineering School. "She is a true University-wide leader, and we are extremely fortunate and proud to have her on our faculty."

She joined the University as half of a faculty couple. Her late husband, Heinz G. F. Wilsdorf, had refused to accept a position with the Engineering School's newly established Department of Materials Science unless U.Va. also hired his wife, then a full professor at the University of Pennsylvania and, like her husband, a physicist and materials scientist. She had already won international notice for her research into crystal defects.

Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, since 1966 a chaired University Professor of Applied Science, usually rises at 5 a.m. to prepare for a day of teaching and research. After decades of teaching physics and materials science, she now teaches a seminar on science and religion to first-year students, along with various materials science courses.

"Science and religion are the two sides of humanity's age-old quest for truth," Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf said. "The two are not antagonistic, but complementary. Different religions are culturally determined paths that lead toward the same truth from different directions."

She teaches two sections of the course and still has to turn students away.

Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf also directs a research team in the Materials Science Department that is developing the most promising of her nearly 80 inventions.

"The creative work of Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf and her collaborators is an inspiration to those who believe their ideas can change the world," said Haydn N.G. Wadley, Engineering School associate dean of research and a board member of the U.Va. Patent Foundation.

Her patents build on nearly two decades of research on the physics and materials science of electrical-current conduction across sliding surfaces, and a search for how best to make electrical connections between moving and static objects. Although an important topic for industry, it has received little scientific attention.

Despite serious drawbacks, industry has depended almost universally on brushes made of graphite and metal-graphite composites since electric motors and generators were developed in the late 19th century. A major drawback is the fine dust created by wear, which accumulates in machinery and damages it - a particularly vexing problem in U.S. Navy submarine motors. "Graphite brushes also wear out quickly, generate too much friction and electrical heat, and fail to generate power as efficiently as they should," Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf said.

Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf's inventions are poised to eliminate these problems by replacing carbon brushes with "multi-contact" brushes made of various metals and alloys drawn into hair-fine fibers. Replacement is already feasible in a variety of applications, and Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf and her team of researchers continue to pursue a broad array of potential uses.

"Doris is a true creative genius and a delightful person," said Robert S. MacWright, U.Va. Patent Foundation executive director. "Her ingenuity and love of science are integral parts of her personality, which is flavored with passion and charm. It is a great honor to know her and to see her receive an award that recognizes her accomplishments and her innovative spirit."

Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf's many professional honors include selection as a fellow of the American Physical Society, a fellow of the American Society for Metals International, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a life member of the American Society for Metals International. The Daughters of the American Revolution awarded her their Americanism medal in 1966, and the German Society for Materials Science awarded her the Heyn Medal for her work on the theory of metal deformation in 1988. Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf also received the 1989 Achievement Award from the American Society of Women Engineers and the Ragnar Holm Scientific Achievement Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in 1991.

A native of Germany, she received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Goettingen University. Her publication list of nearly 300 technical articles begins in 1947 and runs through the present. The U.Va. Patent Foundation award, which recognizes an invention of notable value to society, is named after Christopher J. Henderson, president and chief financial officer of Robbins & Henderson, a New York financial services firm, in recognition of Henderson's interest in technology transfer and commitment to the University of Virginia.