Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Samantha J. Thompson is an instrumental figure in the development of next-generation exoplanet detection facilities, specializing in high-precision radial velocity spectrographs and robotic transit surveys. Her most impactful contribution is the design and implementation of HARPS3, a high-resolution echelle spectrograph (R≈115,000) covering 380–690 nm, built for a roboticized Isaac Newton Telescope. This instrument, detailed in her 2016 paper (34 citations), is engineered to achieve extreme radial velocity precision, enabling the discovery and characterization of low-mass exoplanets around bright stars. Thompson is also a key architect of the SPECULOOS project, a robotic transit survey targeting the nearest ultracool dwarf stars (<3000 K) to find Earth-sized, potentially habitable planets amenable to atmospheric study with telescopes like JWST. Her work bridges the gap between instrument innovation and scientific discovery, directly enabling the next wave of temperate terrestrial exoplanet characterization. With a career focused on pushing the limits of ground-based precision, Thompson’s contributions are foundational to the search for life beyond our solar system.