Nivaldo de Góes Grulha Júnior is a Black man, born in the far eastern part of the city of São Paulo. He is an Associate Professor, Level 3, in the Department of Mathematics at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICMC-USP), in São Carlos. He earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from the University of São Paulo, under the supervision of Prof. Maria Aparecida Soares Ruas, having completed his doctorate under a cotutelle agreement with the Université de la Méditerranée (France), under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Paul Brasselet.

He completed four postdoctoral fellowships and served as a visiting professor at internationally renowned institutions, including the University of São Paulo, Aix-Marseille Université (France), Northeastern University (United States), and the Universitat de València (Spain). He held a CNPq Research Productivity Fellowship (PQ-2) from 2011 to 2022 and has coordinated research projects funded by agencies such as FAPESP, CNPq, and CAPES, including serving as Principal Investigator on the FAPESP Thematic Project "New Frontiers in Singularity Theory."

Beyond his scientific work, he holds academic and institutional leadership roles. He currently serves as President of the Human Rights Center at USP – São Carlos Campus and President of the Inclusion and Belonging Committee (CIP) at ICMC-USP. He has previously served as Vice-Chair of the Department of Mathematics at ICMC-USP, Editor-in-Chief of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (SBM) Electronic Newsletter, and as a member of several academic committees, including graduate studies, international relations, and racial and ethnic relations committees of the SBM.

Alongside his academic career, he is also a writer, author of three published books and a fourth work in preparation.