If we are to clean up our sea and avoid polluting it further, we need to study the materials we are finding in it, where they come from and how they can be removed and avoided. We need researchers like those at the Oceanography Institute of the University of Malta. Meet Professor Alan Deidun and Dr Adam Gauci!

Prof. Alan Deidun, a marine biologist by training, is Malta’s first-ever Ocean Ambassador and Director of the Malta Training Centre of the International Ocean Institute (IOI). He is also a Full Professor within the Department of Geosciences, where he coordinates the Master of Science in Applied Oceanography course and acts as the Rector’s Delegate on the SEA-EU 2.0 (University of the Sea) alliance, besides being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (London). Since 2018, he has acted as the Maltese national delegate for CIESM (the International Science Commission for the Mediterranean), whilst serving as a Board member of the EU Commission’s Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters (2019-2024) and of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) of Malta (2016-2021). He was bestowed in 2021 with the National Order of Merit recognition by the President of Malta and won a total of seven journalism awards over the years for his opinion column in The Sunday Times.

Adam Gauci is a data scientist with the Oceanography Malta Research Group at the University of Malta. He has played a key role in establishing meteo-marine observing systems, including an HF Radar network for real-time monitoring of sea surface currents in the Malta Channel, and strategically placed weather stations in port areas to improve ship navigation safety. Adam obtained his Ph.D. with the Department of Intelligent Computer Systems, focusing on the application of machine learning techniques to mega-dimensional datasets. When not onboard research vessels taking measurements and chasing mermaids, he lectures at the Department of Geosciences within the Faculty of Science.

Watch the Island Guardians video in which Professor Deidun and Dr Gauci tell us more about their research on microplastics!