Antonio Gens graduated from the Technical University of Madrid and he obtained a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. degree from Imperial College in London. He is a professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona where he has been Head of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences and member of the Governing Council of the University.

He has been involved in geotechnical research, consulting and education for more than 30 years. He is the author or co-author of more than 250 scientific papers and he sits in the Editorial Board of several International Journals. He is a member of TC105 (unsaturated soils) and TC215 (environmental geotechnics) of the ISSMGE. He has consulted widely and has given geotechnical advice on a series of landmark projects, both at home and abroad.

In recent years, he has been presented with the Case History Award by the American Rock Mechanics Association in 2006, the R.M. Quigley Award by the Canadian Geotechnical Society in 2009 and the Outstanding Contributions Award by the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) in 2011. Also, the UK Institution of Civil Engineers has awarded him the Telford Medal twice (in 1994 and 2007), the George Stephenson Medal also twice (in 2008 and 2012) and the Geotechnical Research Medal in 2014. In 2007, he delivered the 47th Rankine Lecture. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain and in 2011 he became a Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering. He has been elected Vice-President for Europe of the ISSMGE for the period 2013-2017. In 2014, he has been awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Grenoble in France and the Honour Medal of the Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos (Institution of Civil Engineers) of Spain.