Alexandre Bergantini de Souza, a mathematician with a degree from the University of Vale do Paraíba, surprisingly began his academic career in the social sciences. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in physics and astronomy at the same university. Souza has held visiting research fellowships at The Open University in the United Kingdom and the University of Hawaii in the United States. The mathematician also completed two postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Hawaii. His research focuses on replicating molecules found in the interstellar medium and reproducing their exposure to solar radiation. Souza, a motorcycle fanatic, contemplates philosophy and astrophysics while riding. Souza, a teacher at the Celso Suckow da Fonseca Federal Technological Education Center in Rio de Janeiro, is also a skilled pizza maker who shares his day-to-day with a wise feline.