Ellen Thomas, Ph.D., is the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Integrative Sciences, Emerita, and also Smith Curator of Paleontology of the Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History. Dr. Thomas's research focuses on  benthic foraminifera (eukaryotic unicellular organisms) as proxies for the impact of changes in environment and climate on living organisms on various time scales, from millions of years to decades. She studies foraminiferal assemblages, to see what happened to live in the oceans, as well as trace element and isotope composition of their shells, to see what environmental changes occurred (temperature, pH, oxygenation, productivity, ocean circulation).

Dr. Thomas was a 2023 recipient of the prestigious BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, which recognize and reward world-class research and artistic creation, prizing contributions of singular impact for their originality and significance. Dr. Thomas and peer paleoclimatologist James C. Zachos (University of California, Santa Cruz) were chosen “for their seminal contributions to the identification of a major natural event in the fossil record that provides a compelling analog for anthropogenic climate change.”

Watch Dr. Thomas's interview when she was notified of the Award

See also her Interview and Acceptance Speech

"We have to do much more than we have done in the past if we want to avoid the worst consequences of global warming"