Samuel Madison Tyler Thompson

About Me

Primary research interests:
Carbonate Sedimentology, Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Paleoceanography, Precambrian Geology and Deep Time
(Learn more about my  ongoing research here)

Being born and raised at the base of Appalachian range, I graduated from the Univeristy of Tennessee Chattanooga with my BA in Geology in 2023. There, under the mentorship of Dr. Ashley Manning-Berg, I completed my first undergraduate research project and presented my findings at the GSA Connects conference in 2022.

In late 2023, I moved to Fairfax, VA to begin my MSc in Earth Systems Science at George Mason University, which I completed in May 2025. My master's thesis project covered the use uranium isotopes in carbonate rocks from North Greenland as a paleoredox proxy to track global ocean oxygenation states during the Shuram Excursion of the Late Ediacaran period. 

Today I remain at George Mason University, now pursuing my PhD in Geology under the mentorship of Dr. Geoffrey Gilleaudeau. My PhD research aims to reevaluate our current understanding of ocean chemistry during the Ediacaran, and incorporate new methods to better understand the geochemical mechanisms that drove the Shuram Excursion globally.

In my free time I enjoy reading and writing science fiction, collecting and cataloguing minerals from around the world, and spending time with my cat, Bob.