Mary T. Rodgers is a Professor of Analytical and Physical Chemistry at Wayne State University, in Detroit, MI. She is also a visiting scientist at the FELIX Laboratory at Radboud University, Nijmegen, in the Netherlands. She obtained B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics in 1985 from Illinois State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from the California Institute of Technology, working with Professor Aron Kuppermann. Her Ph.D. studies involved molecular beam, spectroscopic, and theoretical studies of metastable H₃ molecules. She remained at Caltech until 1994 pursuing postdoctoral work with Professor Jesse L. (Jack) Beauchamp where she made use of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry techniques and electronic structure calculations to probe the structures and reactivity of small biological polymers.  From Caltech she moved to the University of Utah to continue postdoctoral work with Professor Peter B. Armentrout on studies that have enabled guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometry methods to be applied to the determination of thermochemistry in larger and biologically relevant species.  Her work led to improvements in the statistical modeling of collision-induced dissociation thresholds via application of the phase space limit transition state model and the incorporation of competitive effects.

In 1997, Mary joined the faculty at Wayne State University as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003 and Professor in 2006. In 2019, She was elected to the Wayne State Academy of Scholars. Her research interests involve the application of analytical and physical mass spectrometry techniques complemented by electronic structure theory to study ion formation processes, ion-molecule reactions, collision-induced dissociation processes, and infrared multiple photon dissociation activation techniques to examine the structures, energetics, dynamics, kinetics, reactivity, thermochemistry, and spectroscopy of biological and organic molecules, metal-ligand complexes, and solvation. Studies characterizing the influence of modifications and the local environment on the structures, energetics, and reactivity of nucleic acid-based systems have been a particular focus.

She has published more than 165 papers and book chapters and presented numerous invited talks at national and international conferences. She has received both research and teaching awards including the ASMS Research Award, WSU Career Development Chair, WSU CLAS Teaching Award, and WSU Distinguished Faculty Fellowship. She is an elected fellow of both AAAS and APS.  She is an active member of the mass spectrometry and spectroscopy communities, participating in and organizing scientific conferences. In particular, she has run the annual Lake Arrowhead Conference on Mass Spectrometry for more than 25 years and recently chaired the Gordon Research Conference on Gaseous Ions: Structures, Energetics, and Reactions. She currently serves as an editor of the European Journal of Mass Spectrometry and on the editorial board of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. She has also served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry and the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Anachem Symposium and Mesilla Chemistry Workshop and is a founding member of the board of directors for the Advancing Mass Spectrometry Society.