José Acacio de Barros (born 1967, Barra Mansa, RJ, Brazil) is a Brazilian-American physicist and philosopher with contributions to the foundations of
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
,
quantum cosmology
Quantum cosmology is the attempt in theoretical physics to develop a quantum theory of the universe. This approach attempts to answer open questions of classical physical cosmology, particularly those related to the first phases of the universe.
...
, and
quantum cognition
Quantum cognition is an emerging field which applies the mathematical formalism of quantum theory to model cognitive phenomena such as information processing by the human brain, language, decision making, human memory, concepts and conceptual re ...
. Dr. de Barros received his PhD in Physics from the
Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF) in 1991 under the supervision of
Francisco Antonio Doria and
Antonio Fernandes da Fonseca Teixeira (he was also informally under the supervision of
Newton da Costa
Newton Carneiro Affonso da Costa (born 16 September 1929 in Curitiba, Brazil) is a Brazilian mathematician, logician, and philosopher. He studied engineering and mathematics at the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba and the title of his ...
). Since 2007 he has been in the Liberal Studies faculty of
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
. Before going to San Francisco, he was an associate professor of physics at the Federal University at Juiz de Fora, Brazil, and he was a visiting associate professor at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, and has also held visiting positions at the
Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas. Dr. de Barros has been a long-term collaborator of Philosopher
Patrick Suppes
Patrick Colonel Suppes (; March 17, 1922 – November 17, 2014) was an American philosopher who made significant contributions to philosophy of science, the theory of measurement, the foundations of quantum mechanics, decision theory, psychology ...
, with whom he published extensively on the foundations of quantum mechanics and joint probabilities. Among his most influential work is his joint research with
Nelson Pinto-Neto
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, in which
Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics was applied to
quantum cosmology
Quantum cosmology is the attempt in theoretical physics to develop a quantum theory of the universe. This approach attempts to answer open questions of classical physical cosmology, particularly those related to the first phases of the universe.
...
, paving the way for bouncing models using realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. His recent work attempts to give a neurophysiological foundation to quantum-like effects in psychology.
He is also among the main proponents, in collaboration with Gary Oas, of the use of negative probabilities to understand quantum systems.
References
External links
Acacio de Barros's page on his SFSU's website
1967 births
Living people
Brazilian philosophers
Brazilian physicists
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