Stefano Manzoni graduated magna cum laude in Environmental Engineering from Politecnico of Torino (Italy) in 2004. He moved to Duke University to pursue a PhD in Hydrology in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a focus on the linkages between hydrology and biogeochemical cycling in soils. As a Research Scientist in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University he investigated how plants respond to changing water availability.