Inês Mateus holds a Master's degree with honours in Marine Sciences from the University of Milano-Bicocca. Her thesis focused on the role of sea ice and the physical consequences of its disappearance due to climate change in modulating freshwater accumulation and export within the Beaufort Gyre, the largest reservoir of Arctic low-salinity waters. She is motivated by curiosity and a simple pleasure in studying physics, combined with a will to address topics that are both relevant and urgent to improve society and protect people. After a research fellowship at the University of Bologna studying the vulnerability of Mediterranean coastal states to oil spill pollution transported by ocean currents, she is currently enrolled in a PhD program entitled "Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges." Her thesis focuses on improving the current understanding of the physical transport of marine debris in the ocean and mapping the vulnerability of different coastlines to pollution. She is also a member of the third-cycle (PhD) student body at the Collegio Superiore of the University of Bologna.
