Nancy Ross

Short Bio:

Nancy Ross, 66, is currently a Professor in the Department of Geosciences and Materials Science and Engineering Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (“Virginia Tech”) in Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. Professor Ross received her B.S. from Virginia Tech, her M.S. from the University of British Columbia and her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. After postdoctoral work at Stony Brook University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, she joined the faculty at University College London, England. In 2000, she came full circle, returning to the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech as a full professor. She served as the first Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the newly-formed College of Science at Virginia Tech from 2003 to 2012. She chaired the Department of Geosciences from 2012 to 2017.

Ross is a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA). She was selected as a Distinguished Lecturer of MSA (2011-2012). She was elected as Vice-President of MSA (2008-2009) and as President of MSA (2090-2010). She is currently a candidate for the position of First Vice President of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). She was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Societá di Mineralogia e Petrologia, Italy (2014) and Fellowship of Geological Society of America, U.S.A. (2016). In September 2024 she will receive the Roebling Medal, the highest honor of the Mineralogical Society of America.

Ross is known for her influential role in applying lattice dynamics and principles of atomic bonding and structure to derive governing principles of the stability and sustainability of materials, and for leadership in expanding the scope of the fields of geochemistry and mineralogy with neutron sources.