[2] Upon completing her PhD, Ross spent 12 years at the University College London before joining the Department of Geological Sciences at Virginia Tech in 2000.
Shortly after joining the department, she was named associate dean for research, graduate studies, and outreach in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
[3] She also worked with Ross John Angel to establish Virginia Tech's Crystallography Laboratory which performs X-ray diffraction measurements in support of research programs in chemistry, geosciences, physics, and biological sciences.
[4] In recognition of her academic accomplishments, Ross was named head of Department of Geosciences as a replacement for Ken Eriksson in 2012.
[8] In 2024, Nancy L. Ross was awarded the Roebling Medal, the highest honor at the Mineralogical Society of America.