To oversee its new cutting-edge electron microscopy systems, MIT sought out Frances Ross’ industry-honed expertise.
Though Frances Ross and her sister Caroline Ross both ended up on the faculty of MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, they got there by quite different pathways. While Caroline followed a more traditional academic route and has spent most of her career at MIT, Frances Ross spent most of her professional life working in the industrial sector, as a microscopy specialist at IBM. It wasn’t until 2018 that she arrived at MIT to oversee the new state-of-the-art electron microscope systems being installed in the new MIT.nano facility.
Frances, who bears a strong family resemblance to her sister, says “it’s confused a few people, if they don’t know there are two of us.”
The sisters grew up in London in a strongly science- and materials-oriented family. Her father, who worked first as a scientist and then as a lawyer, is currently working on his third PhD degree, in classics. Her mother, a gemologist, specializes in precisely matching diamonds, and oversees certification testing for the profession.
Source:”A wizard of ultrasharp imaging”, David L. Chandler, MIT News Office
