Rowan physics professor selected for national honor

Tabbetha A. Dobbins, Ph.D., professor of physics and dean of Rowan University’s School of Graduate Studies, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), in recognition of her excellence in physics and exceptional service to the physics community. 

She was selected for the honor by the society’s Forum on Diversity & Inclusion “for advancing science and engineering education, improving the study of physics through research and leadership, and decades of dedicated mentorship.”

Dobbins is an internationally recognized expert in materials science and engineering. In her role as dean of the School of Graduate Studies, she supports the institution’s research-based graduate programs and student services.

Dobbins has lent her scientific expertise and guidance in leadership roles nationally. She served on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee; the National Science Foundation (NSF) Math and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee; and on the NSF’s  Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, where she led the writing of a report to the U.S. Congress titled, “Making Visible the Invisible: STEM Talent of Rural America” in 2024. 

Her service work with the American Institute of Physics started in 2017 with her appointment to the National Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy, or TEAM-UP.  She more recently led the American Institute of Physics’ Visioning Engagement with Undergraduate Students (VENUS) Panel which culminated with a June 2025 letter report prepared for the AIP Board of Directors.

A 2009 recipient of the prestigious NSF CAREER Award, Dobbins has received more than $2 million in grants as principal investigator, including support to study and mitigate the effects of university closures due to COVID-19 on Black undergraduate students of physics. This work was an extension of the AIP TEAM-UP Report which was released in January of 2020.

In her own work, Dobbins has encouraged the participation of students in synchrotron X-ray and neutron studies at national research laboratories. Her research programs are aimed at attracting and recruiting top students to the sciences. 

She earned a B.S. in physics at Lincoln University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University respectively. She was awarded a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

Her research centers on applying synchrotron X-ray and neutron analysis to modern engineering problems in carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles, the hydrogen fuel economy and polymer self-assembly.