February 29, 2008

In memoriam: John S. Barlow, MD

John S. Barlow, MD, (left) retired from the MGH, died Feb. 15. He was 87 years old.

Barlow, who joined the MGH Department of Neurology in 1953, was a graduate of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and Harvard Medical School (HMS). A physicist as well as a physician, while at HMS he undertook the design for the first U.S. analog correlator for brain potentials, an artifact currently on display at the MIT Museum.

His work at the MGH focused on electroencephalography (EEG) — electronic recordings of brain activity. He was a past president of the Eastern Association of Electroencephalographers and the American EEG Society. In addition to authoring two books and numerous scientific articles in this field, he also designed electronic models to demonstrate how different parts of the brain function. An amateur linguist and historian, Barlow translated scientific articles from many different languages into English. He received his 50-year pin on Ether Day in 2003.

Barlow is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sibylle, and their three children, six grandchildren and great-granddaughter. Donations in his memory can be made to the Countway Library of Medicine at HMS or to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UNC Chapel Hill.