Antonio Acín

Antonio Acín Dal Maschio is a Spanish theoretical physicist, currently an ICREA professor at ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences in Castelldefels, near Barcelona.

Research interests
Acín's primary research interest lies in quantum information theory, with a particular focus on entanglement characterization and quantum nonlocality. He is also involved in developing quantum communication protocols, emphasizing quantum cryptography and randomness.

Education
Antonio Acín received his undergraduate education in both Telecommunication Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia from 1990 to 1997 and Physics at the University of Barcelona from 1993 to 1997. He then pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Barcelona and earned his Doctorate in Theoretical Physics in 2001.

Research career
Antonio Acín began his research career as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Geneva's GAP-Optique with Nicolas Gisin from October 2001 to March 2003, focusing on theoretical aspects of quantum information. In April 2003, he moved to ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences, where he continued his post-doctoral work until December 2004. Acín then transitioned into a faculty position at ICFO, serving as an assistant professor from January 2005 to December 2007. He was subsequently promoted to Professor in January 2008. Later that year in September 2008, Acín was appointed as an ICREA Professor at ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences.

Acín's research has been recognized with several grants and awards, such as the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant CERQUTE (2020-2024), ERC Consolidator Grant QITBOX (2014-2019), ERC Proof-of-Concept MAMBO (2012-2013), and ERC Starting Grant PERCENT (2008-2013). He was also awarded the AXA Chair in Quantum Information Science, the prize “La Recherche” in 2011 and the Paul Ehrenfest Best Paper Award for Quantum Foundations in 2018 and 2022.

Acín has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of several research institutes, including the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore, the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information in Vienna, and the International Advisory Council of the International Institute of Physics in Natal.

Popular Science Work
Antonio Acín has been involved in promoting scientific understanding among the general public. He has given a number of educational talks aimed at non-scientists  and written several popular science articles. He is also the author of a book.