Francois Tissot

Francois Tissot is a Professor of Geochemistry at California Institute of Technology and Investigator at the Heritage Medical Research Institute (HMRI). He holds a Diplôme d'Ingénieur from École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie (2009), an M.Sc. from Lulea University of Technology (2009), and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (2015). His academic journey includes roles as a Visiting Associate at Caltech (2017-2018), Assistant Professor (2018-2024), and current Professor since 2024. He has been an HMRI Investigator since 2021.

His research focuses on three core areas: (1) Solar System formation and evolution, (2) reconstructing ancient ocean-atmosphere redox conditions, and (3) applying non-traditional stable isotopes to magmatic processes. Techniques include clean-lab sample preparation, MC-ICPMS analysis, and physical modeling. Notable projects involve meteorite nucleosynthetic anomalies, chondrule formation mechanisms, and isotopic tracking of planetary evolution.

Tissot teaches advanced courses such as Ge 140b (Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry) and Ge 219 (Non-Traditional Isotopes Seminar), emphasizing radiogenic isotope systems, cosmochemistry, and seminar-based exploration of cutting-edge isotope applications. Courses alternate biennially, with recent offerings in 2023-24 and prior terms.