José Acacio de Barros was born in Barra Mansa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He received the B.Sc. degree in physics from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, in 1988, and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from the Brazilian Center for Research, Sao Paolo, Brazil, in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, from 1991 to 1993, and a Science Researcher at Stanford's Education Program for Gifted Youth from 1993 to 1995. In 1995, he joined the Physics Department, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil, where he is a member of the staff (on leave). He has held Visiting Faculty positions at Stanford University, and was a Visiting Researcher at the Brazilian Center for Research in physics. Currently, he is with the Liberal Studies Department, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA. He has published several research papers on the foundations of physics, cosmology, physics education, and biophysics. His current research interests include interdisciplinary physical and mathematical models of cognitive processes and foundations of quantum mechanics.