Since childhood, Cesar Rocha from São Paulo has had two great passions: mathematics and the sea. During my routine summer holidays on the north coast of São Paulo, he spent hours swimming and surfing, taking advantage of the calm moments to think about mathematical equations. With a degree and master’s degree in oceanography from the University of São Paulo, Rocha moved to the United States to obtain a doctorate in physical oceanography from the University of California. Still in the USA, he did postdoctoral work at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts and was a professor at the University of Connecticut.

Today, back at USP, the oceanographer confesses that he swapped his board for another vehicle to let his thoughts full of equations flow: the bicycle. When he’s not teaching, researching, cycling or playing guitar for his son, he always reads the New Yorker or Piauí magazine. His project is an investigation into the currents and waves of the deepest regions of the ocean. The AMOC, known in Portuguese as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, is a gigantic current in the lower ocean layers that significantly impacts the planet’s temperature and climate. Rocha’s study attempts to understand this phenomenon better and thus gain insights into the oceans to prepare for global warming.