About

Student, outdoorsman, and utilitarian seeking to align the global economy with planetary health and human well-being.

The theory

Ecology and economics are two ends of one framework. Every economy runs on natural capital: water, soil, forests, fisheries, and a stable climate. Yet most markets still price it poorly or not at all.

People often ask me whether more climate data can accomplish anything, given how many warnings have already been ignored. I think the problem was never the amount of information. It was the form. Global, long-horizon estimates are easy to discount. A causally identified cost for a specific place is not. It turns "society bears a cost" into "this county, this water district, this budget bears a cost," and it gives insurers, budget offices, regulators, courts, and investors a number to act on. Once a cost has a real price, the people who pay it have leverage to change the system.

Gabriel at dinner in Chicago — Chicago, IL

The practice

Climate action is short on operators: people who change systems through incentives backed by strong science. That is the role I am building toward, and my work follows the chain from measurement to action.

MeasureSensor networks and machine learning track ecosystems continuously, not once a decade.
ModelThose data feed climate and economic models at local scale, like our 30-year projection of Chicago's heat costs.
PriceTheseus Capital tests whether markets price climate risk and natural capital correctly.
ActReal prices give stakeholders, especially in developing economies, the leverage to manage energy and natural capital.

Gabriel holding a steelhead in a drift boat on a forested river — Steelhead, from the drift boat

Gabriel in a safari vehicle holding binoculars, small planes on an airstrip behind him — Airstrip, on safari

In brief

Studying: BS in Environmental Science and BA in Economics (Data Science) at the University of Chicago, expected 2028. Senior partner at Midway Ventures, Tech Review writer, former varsity wrestler.
Research: Machine learning for ecosystem monitoring at Enterprise Neurosystems, and climate-intervention modeling at UChicago's Climate Systems Engineering Initiative and Existential Risk Laboratory. See research →
Projects: Founder of the Antaeus Group, winner of the 2026 UChicago Climate Case Competition, and building Theseus Capital. See projects →
Experience: Energy consulting at Converge Strategies, venture diligence at 44 North Capital Management, and operations at Rise Reforming.
Recognition: 3rd place at the Midway Ideathon, and an honorable mention (45 of 9,000) in the New York Times Narrative Essay Contest.

Emailgdt714308@icloud.com

LinkedIngabriel-d-thomas

GitHubgdt714308

MeetBook a time to talk ↗

Research

Measuring ecosystems in real time, and modeling the climate at planetary scale.

Apr 2026 – presentBay Area, CA

Enterprise Neurosystems

Researcher, ML for Ecosystem Analysis

Building edge-computing sensor stacks that identify wildlife and track animal health as it happens, in the field.

Built edge sensor stacks that run MegaDetector on-device to parse camera images for real-time species detection.
Developed back-end species identification and health and activity indicators with a custom-tuned SpeciesNet model.
Designing a heat-map vision tool, integrated with the back-end analysis, that surfaces animal activity and health.

Field sitesDangermond Preserve, California · Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

MegaDetectorSpeciesNetEdge computingComputer vision

Mar – Jun 2026UChicagoReport forthcoming

Existential Risk Laboratory

Researcher, Nuclear Winter Mitigation Strategies

Co-authored a report assessing the existential risk of nuclear winter and evaluating ways to mitigate it.

Derived energy-efficiency calculations and models to assess feasibility and return on infrastructure investment.
Developed two intervention pathways, electrostatic coagulation and endothermic photodissociation, to reduce aerosol forcing after a large-scale nuclear conflict.

Aerosol forcingEnergy modelingCatastrophic risk

Oct 2025 – Jun 2026UChicago

Climate Systems Engineering Initiative

Researcher, Climate Forcing Modeling · Advisor: Jim Franke

Modeled stratospheric aerosol injection and what it would mean for regional climate risk.

Built Python models of stratospheric aerosol injection, projecting temperature and precipitation anomalies and regional climate risk.
Modeled radiative forcing and climate responses to assess regional extreme-weather risk.
Evaluated feasibility, risk profiles, and governance options for climate-intervention technologies.

Stratospheric aerosol injectionRadiative forcingPython

Projects

The group I lead, a competition win, and the venture I'm building.

May 2026 – presentUChicago

Antaeus Group

Founder & Lead Researcher · Actionable climate-economics insights

A research group of UChicago master's and undergraduate students building an economic model that prices in climate change and natural capital.

Adjusting conventional economic models to show where policy action and investment are needed.
Directing a 30-year projection of Chicago's heat costs, layering climate simulations of hot-day distributions with economic cost models of mortality and lost productivity.

Natural capitalClimate economicsHeat risk

OngoingIn development

Theseus Capital

Founder · The natural capital misalignment hypothesis

An investment hypothesis built on the gap between what markets charge and what the physical world can sustain.

Major commodities, real estate markets, and municipal bonds still do not account for climate risk or natural capital.
Developing an investment hypothesis that tracks this misalignment, market by market.
Aiming to show that markets will converge on physical realities, and that pricing those realities correctly is immensely valuable.

Natural capitalClimate riskAsset pricing

2026UChicagoWinner