Sustainability Minor Series: Ana Beatriz Campos Carneiro

What inspired you to pursue a Sustainability Minor at Minerva? How do you see the Sustainability Minor complementing your major/s of choice?

Minerva's composition of the Sustainability Minor, which includes Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Arts and Humanities, is fantastic! It is an essential interdisciplinary approach to climate change – the single most urgent and critical issue of our century. That perspective inspired me to pursue the minor, as it not only deepens my understanding of sustainability but also complements my Natural Sciences major by equipping me with politics and communications frameworks to tackle complex issues.

How does the Sustainability Minor align with your future career goals?

My main future career goal is to do research in vaccine development. The sustainability minor aligns with this goal by challenging me to think about whether research methodologies are designed to be truly sustainable in terms of material usage and respect for human rights, in different stages from ideation to distribution, and in health industries.

Have you participated in any civic projects or internships related to sustainability? How did those experiences complement your coursework in the minor?

I participated in the Minerva Sustainability Lab, which was concluded over the summer in Tokyo. My project focused on policy solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and I could never have imagined how vast and complex policy work is. My coursework in the minor focuses on the definition of sustainability, how design should be used for reasonable solutions, and the natural sciences, of course, but this experience taught me the ultimate way to combine these concepts into official policies that positively impact large demographic groups.

In what ways do you plan to incorporate sustainability into your Capstone research project?

I want my Capstone research project to reflect my long-term commitment to sustainability, the protection of Brazil’s natural diversity, and the well-being of its traditional peoples — including Indigenous and Quilombola communities.. Although I’m still refining the structure of my project, my goal is to design a study that both safeguards the environment and advances climate justice. Specifically, I plan to focus on an environmental issue that disproportionately affects traditional communities in Brazil, such as chemical pollution in rivers.

Looking ahead, is there an area of sustainability you feel especially drawn to or passionate about exploring?

I feel drawn to exploring solutions to improve the health of water bodies. I love chemistry, and chemical water pollution is often ignored in discussions, especially when it is impossible to visualize. The solution I would like to explore is increasing industries’ accountability for their waste management.

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