Prof. Hugo Torrens was my MSc and PhD advisor, but more than that he was a beloved friend. I meet him too early in my career, I had 17 yo, when I did a short stay at his lab, the 209, and from then he influenced my life. Son of Catalan refugees exiled in Mexico because of the spanish civil war, Hugo was born in Mexico City in 1948. He made his basic studies in "Colegio Madrid" and later, inspired by Francisco Giral, he joined the School of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where he got the bachelor degree in Chemical engineering, he continued his MSc studies at UNAM. After, in 1974 he joined the group of Prof. David W. A Sharp at the University of Glasgow, there he got his PhD in 1977. Dr. Torrens went back to UNAM and started his own group, becoming one of the founders of the Inorganic Chemistry department in 1978. During his career as Professor Hugo participated in the formation of several generations of mexican chemists. He directed more than 50 theses, 10 of them of PhD. All of his doctoral alumni pursued academic careers becoming researchers. This shows the capability that Hugo had to transfer his passion and impulse others to love science. I was the last of his PhD students and I feel grateful for the opportunity I had to get to know Hugo, a brilliant, joyful, and curious scientist, He was one of a kind! 

Hugo passed away on July 1st 2021.

https://cen.acs.org/people/obituaries/Obituary-Hugo-Torrens/99/i38

http://bsqm.org.mx/pdf-boletines/V15/V15N3/BSQM211503_dTorrensMiquel.pdf