Frances Mary Ross is the Ellen Swallow Richards Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[3] In 1992 Ross started her academic career as a staff scientist inn the University of California, Berkeley National Center for Electron Microscopy.

At IBM Ross monitored self-assembly mechanisms, including the processes by which nanowires form using chemical vapor deposition and the growth of quantum dots.

[5] She heats the substrate to 500 degrees celsius, at which temperature the gas begins to react with the metal catalysts and depositing silicon beneath the particles.

These nanowires can be used to bridge electrical contacts, allowing Ross to understand the relationship between physical structure and electronic performance.