My full name is Fernando Manuel Ornelas Guerreiro Marques, but for short I am Nando. I was born on the 22^nd October 1954 in Mozambique (southeast Africa), in the beautiful city of Lourenço Marques, also known as the Garden City (currently Maputo). I lived there for 23 years, but moved to Portugal in May 1977. In Mozambique I studied Human Medicine (completed the first three years at the University of Lourenço Marques), and in Portugal I became a geologist in 1985, and a PhD in Geodynamics in 1994. All my degrees were obtained at the University of Lisbon, where I worked as researcher/teacher from 1986 to 2021, when I retired from the university.
During the 35 years of my career, I worked in many outstanding places in all continents, in collaboration with the best geologists in my field. Having to leave my home country, start a whole new life in Portugal, and travelling all around the world to learn new cultures and different ways of thinking carved me to the person I am today.

I started working on the geology of Santa Maria in 1984, and this beautiful island immediately became my second home. Interestingly, I am back to Africa, because Santa Maria lies on the African tectonic plate. I really feel Santa Maria like my home!
Some bumps on the road motivated me to keep myself fit and healthy. The basement of my home in Portugal mainland (Vila Nogueira de Azeitão located next to the Arrábida Natural Park) comprises a full gym, where I go seven days per week, for at least one and half hours/day. Given that I still keep the tropical habit of waking up at 05:00 a.m., I go to the gym very early in the morning to start my day free of bad energies (stress hormones) and full of good opioids (endorphins).