Elizabeth K. Thomas

Elizabeth K. Thomas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University at Buffalo. She specializes in paleoclimate dynamics, stable isotope, and organic geochemistry to reconstruct past climate changes.

Education:

• PhD in Geological Sciences, Brown University (2014)
• NSF EAR Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2014-2016)

Research Interests
Dr. Thomas uses organic geochemical and stable isotopic proxies from marine, lake, and loess sediments to reconstruct Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes, focusing on precipitation, temperature, and ecological shifts. Her work integrates climate models to understand modern global change mechanisms.

Scientific Awards:

• National Science Foundation CAREER Awardee (2021)
• Fulbright Scholar (2022-2023)
• NSF EAR Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-2016)

Lab and Team
She directs the Organic & Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Lab and co-directs the Paleoclimate Lab. Her team includes PhD candidates JM Aguilar and Rebecca Topness, and undergraduate researchers Eriyon Cowles, Justus Rodriguez, Nick Ohnmeiss, and Kayla Zhou.

Teaching and Outreach
Dr. Thomas teaches courses like Climate Change, Forensic Stable Isotopes, and Carbon Reduction Challenge, where students partner with local businesses to reduce carbon footprints. She emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in her research team and serves on UB’s Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) advisory committee.