Antônio R.M. Simões, Brazilian, Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Linguistics, received degrees from Central College, Pella, Iowa (B.A., 1976), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (M.A., 1979), l'Institut de phonétique, Université de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France (D.E.A., 1980).

From 1980 to 1983 he did preliminary doctoral research at the same French Institut de phonétique.He concluded his Ph.D. in 1987, at the University of Texas at Austin. Professor Simões taught at the University of Texas at Austin (1987-89) before joining the University of Kansas in 1989.His main interest is in Romance Phonetics and Phonology of discourse, but recently he has been working on applied linguistics, with testing and teaching materials. He has authored articles, the book Com licença! Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers (UT Press, 1992), he has also co-edited the book Portuguese for Spanish Speakers – Selected Articles Written in Portuguese and English, (Pontes, 2004), and participated in and organized international meetings. Professor Simões created the first Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) written for Portuguese as well as other related language tests, an ongoing e-book, An Applied Reference Grammar for Brazilian Portuguese, with free access at http://www.ku.edu/~brasilis/simoes/current.htm. Professor Simões has one forthcoming book (Georgetown University Press) to teach Advanced Brazilian Portuguese, called Baticum!. and he is currently working in collaboration with Richard Teschner, in a phonology and phonetics book, Pronouncing Brazilian Portuguese. He was awarded the International Research and Studies Award, from the US Dept. of Education (2000-2004), the 2004 Outstanding Educator Award by the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, and the Cramer Award for Research (2005), at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Professor Simões is also the current Faculty Advisor to the University of Kansas Torch Chapter of the Mortar Board Senior Honor. He created the Summer Language and Culture Institute, in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina (1995-96), and in Vitória, Espírito Santo (1997-2005), Brazil, and directed it since its inception.