Dr. Ana Margarida Costa has over 25 years of experience leading sustainability initiatives across academia, industry, and government. She is the founding head of the KAUST Office of Sustainability, where she directs the university’s sustainability strategy, fosters interdisciplinary research, and develops national and international partnerships. She also oversees KAUST’s sustainability performance and reporting, ensuring alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and leads the development of the KAUST Climate Action Plan.

Dr. Costa serves on the advisory committee of the International Sustainable Campus Network and holds a Faculty of Practice position at KAUST, where she teaches courses and leads initiatives on sustainability and climate action.

Prior to KAUST, she led the Environmental and Air Quality Unit at the Institute of Environment and Development in Portugal, overseeing multimillion-dollar R&D and consultancy projects worldwide. As an academic, Dr. Costa has led and contributed to research in environmental sustainability, lectured in multiple environmental and engineering courses, and supervised undergraduate and graduate students.

She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and a Master’s in Atmospheric Pollution. She specialized in numerical modeling of atmospheric flows, pollutant dispersion, and human exposure, with applications in sustainable urban planning and environmental impact assessment. Her work on air quality management, climate action, and urban resilience bridges science with policy to support decision-making. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed research articles, conference papers, book chapters, and technical reports.