John Elton Cunha holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, a master's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Natural Resources from the Federal University of Campina Grande (2018). He completed a sandwich doctorate at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia of the University of Lisbon. Since 2012, he has been a professor at UFCG's Center for Sustainable Development in Semi-Arid Regions and works in the postgraduate program for Civil and Environmental Engineering (PPGECA-UFCG), supervising master's and doctoral courses. His main research interests are the application of remote sensing techniques to energy, carbon, and water balances, and land cover change studies in Brazilian semi-arid regions. He has been involved in several international research projects with institutions across Africa, Europe, and the US, his research being linked to the Mediterranean and semi-arid climate regions. He has worked with researchers at the Forest Research Center of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and the School of Geographical Sciences of the University of Bristol (England).