Mariana Bernardino

Mariana Bernardino is a senior researcher at the Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC) at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, where she leads the Marine Environment Group. With a PhD in Physics (Meteorology) and over two decades of experience in climate and ocean sciences, her work focuses on the intersection of marine climate modeling and renewable energy development.

Her research has significantly contributed to understanding how climate change affects wind and wave patterns, particularly in the North Atlantic and along the coasts of Portugal, the Azores, and other key maritime regions. She has coordinated and participated in several national and international projects aimed at assessing the future potential of wave and offshore wind energy, including high-resolution modeling studies for energy planning and climate resilience.

Mariana has extensive experience with numerical modeling tools, including wave and atmospheric models like SWAN and WRF, and has applied them in operational forecasting, wave energy resource assessments, and climate change impact analyses. She is also a frequent collaborator with industry and public institutions, having worked previously at the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) and the Hydrographic Institute.

She is a regular contributor to international conferences and journals, a member of several scientific committees, and has served as a guest editor for special issues on marine climate and energy topics. Through her leadership at CENTEC, she promotes collaborative research that supports the clean energy transition, with a strong focus on sustainability, innovation, and the integration of climate science into marine energy strategies.