She received her doctorate in 1994 in the field of methodology for Societal Complexity on the COMPRAM Methodology under supervision of Harm 't Hart with the thesis, entitled "Defining complex interdisciplinary societal problems : a theoretical study for constructing a co-operative problem analyzing method: the method COMPRAM".
She gives lectures on the subject of Methodology of Societal Complexity as visiting professor and at conferences all over the world.
She built a multidisciplinary International Research Group on Societal Complexity in Europe, North America, and Africa.
DeTombe research interests concern the subject of how to handle complex problems in the area of Global safety.
She has published over 100 articles and many books, some of them together with her colleagues Cor van Dijkum and Elmar Stuhler.