Fernando Torres, brain-wave graphing pioneer

The U neurology professor helped to developmodern electroencephalography (EEG) labs and standards.

By Ben Cohen, Star Tribune

Last update: January 28, 2007 - 9:23 PM

Dr. Fernando Torres, a retired University of Minnesota professor of neurology who was a pioneer in modern electroencephalography, or brain-wave graphing, died of liver cancer Jan. 21 in Edina.

Torres, who also worked as an honorary consul for Colombia, was 82.

Born in Paris, he grew up in his parents' native Colombia, then studied and lived in the United States for more than 50 years.

He joined the University of Minnesota Medical School staff in 1956, becoming known as an outstanding and patient teacher, according to several colleagues.

"Uniformly, everybody revered Fernando. He was an unusually good teacher and mentor, and good with patients," said a former student, Dr. Mark Mahowald, who is chief of neurology at Hennepin County Medical Center and professor of neurology at the university.

In the early 1950s, Torres moved to Baltimore to perform research at Johns Hopkins University and its hospital. Before moving to the Twin Cities, he studied or practiced in New York and in Bogota, Colombia.

From the 1950s to the '70s, Torres was a pioneer in modern electroencephalography, said Dr. James Zeese, a retired neurologist who worked with Torres at the university in the 1970s.

"He helped develop standards for EEG labs throughout the U.S. and, in fact, throughout the world," Zeese said.

Among Torres' publishing credits are 105 medical journal articles.

As honorary consul to Minnesota from 1961 to 1996, Torres handled paperwork dealing with matters such as the U.S. justice system, immigration and adoption.

His wife, Trudy, founded and led the Minnesota Academy of Seizure Rehabilitation in Minneapolis from 1959 to 1991. Torres was the neurologist for the group, where people with epilepsy trained for jobs, and helped patients/trainees get control of their seizures.

Trudy died in 2003.

In 1999, Torres became a U.S. citizen, "which was one of his proudest moments," said his longtime secretary, Phyllis Christenson of Stanchfield, Minn.

He retired from the university in 2000.

Torres' brother, Camilo Torres, was a well-known Catholic priest who helped found a rebel group in Colombia and was killed in a battle with government troops in 1966.

Torres is survived by his son, Mauricio, of Lima, Peru, and four grandchildren.

Services have been held.

Ben Cohen • bcohen@startribune.com

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