Ignacio Torres (1964-2012)

Our friend and colleague Ignacio Torres passed away unexpectedly on January 15, 2012 after a routine medical checkup at the age of 47. Ignacio S. Torres Alvarado, or Nacho as called by his friends, leaves behind his wife Gaby and two children. We are deeply shocked by this tragic incident. Ignacio was born in November 1964 in Torreón, State of Coahuila in Northern Mexico. In 1988, he graduated as a Geology Engineer with honorable mention from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (U.N.A.M.) with his thesis about “Petrography, mineragraphy, X-ray and fluid inclusions studies at the northern zone of the geothermal field of Los Azufres, Michoacán.” Ignacio continued his academic career in Germany, where he concluded a one-year-specialty program about “Geohydrology and Geotechnical Issues in Tropical and Subtropical regions” at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (1988-1989). From November 1989 to October 1990, Ignacio was hired as junior researcher at the Institute for Electrical Research (IIE) in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He returned to Tübingen in 1996 to conclude his doctoral studies about “Water-rock interactions at the geothermal field of Los Azufres, Mexico: Mineralogical, thermochemical and isotopic-geochemical investigations” with M. Satır and P. Metz at the Institute for Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry. Ignacio returned to Mexico to start a thriving academic career at the Center for Energy Research (Centro de Investigación en Energía, CIE) of the U.N.A.M in Temixco, Morelos State, Central Mexico, first as associate (1997-2002) then as permanent professor (2003-2012) in geothermal studies.

Since February 2009, he has served as the Academic Coordinator of the post-graduate program at CIE.
Ignacio has received awards from several societies throughout his career, such as the Gabino Barreda Medal from UNAM, selection as member of the Mexican Academy of Science (AMC) and the National System for Scientists (SNI), and election as President of the Mexican Institute for Geochemistry (INAGEQ) from 2002 to 2004. As recognition of his active participation in IAGC’s Water-Rock Interaction (WRI) working group, in 2010 he received the Friend of Water-rock Interaction Award. During his young career, he published several dozens of journal papers, book chapters, extended abstracts and registered patents, mainly related to mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic issues in hydrothermal systems.