Sanford Abraham Asher, a distinguished professor emeritus of chemistry widely known and honored for pioneering ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy, died Jan. 16, 2026.
Asher joined Pitt in 1980.
“His research program,” recalled chemistry faculty member Sunil K. Saxena, “rapidly became a pillar of our strengths in analytical and physical chemistry. He started a program in the resonance Raman of small molecules which ultimately led to the pioneering development of UV resonance Raman. His group built the conceptual basis for the methodology, moving from strength to strength, from fundamental methodological developments to the analysis of amino acids to full protein structures. Over the last couple of decades this trajectory led to methodology for the determination of amyloid structure and now into the examination of the soil on Mars.”
UV resonance Raman spectroscopy uses lasers to study the movements and structures of proteins in aqueous solutions, since proteins are the building blocks of life on Earth. He also developed UV laser light sources to detect explosives for the military, and to search for signs of life on Mars for NASA. In addition, he studied optical growth conditions for commercial materials and crystalline colloidal assemblies for optical sensing, switching, and displays, under multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, Department of Defense, NASA and its Jet Propulsion Laboratories and many other governmental and commercial concerns.
“While his work on spectroscopy would be a successful career by itself,” Saxena said, “Sandy was equally successful in the field of hydrogels as sensors which led to 30 patents and technology transfers. Over his career, Sandy published more than 330 papers and trained at least 47 PhD students and 65 postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists, most of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in industry and academia.”
Asher recruited Saxena to the department and was his mentor at the beginning, he added: “In all honesty, Sandy was not a mentor in the classical sense of the word, but he was the mentor I needed. I recall asking him to read my first proposal. Sandy managed to read two paragraphs,” marking one with “AV” for “active voice” and the second with “PV” for “passive voice.” “‘People make quick decisions,’ he said, ‘and PV does not help.’ That was the lesson I needed.
“I remember being so proud that I had managed to construct and submit a legit full proposal. Sandy saw me with that proposal and said: ‘It will get rejected in six months and you are allowed to be disappointed for only one nanosecond.’ This was probably the best advice that I, as an assistant professor could have received. This became my mantra and the mantra that was imparted to all my students. Last year, I sent out my son to college with this exact advice.
“For Sandy, these were not empty words. He lived a life of intense curiosity. Amidst his many successes he faced occasional disappointments, and he weathered them with equanimity. In many ways he was the sort of person that a university is made for — a deeply committed scholar who examined all evidence and questioned himself before forming his opinion. He shepherded the department to greater heights through his scholarship but even more so by willingly and incessantly taking on the lonely role as the holder of ‘standards.’ He was an invaluable critic in the evaluation of candidates for appointment and tenure. The department is clearly in his debt for always being willing to stand up and speak about what is right for the institution.”
Asher was also a mentor to departmental faculty colleague Haitao Liu, who arrived at Pitt in 2010. “His impact on people's development has been phenomenal,” Liu said. “He was very critical to a lot of departmental efforts and he had very high expectations of” colleagues’ work, while the department, its students and staff have benefited from the many grants Asher brought in. “His scientific stature has contributed very, very importantly to the status and profile of our department.”
Asher was born Sane Abram Ascher in 1947 in a displaced persons camp to parents who were Holocaust survivors. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri in 1971 and his PhD in chemistry from the University of California–Berkeley in 1977, completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard. He received dozens of honors in his field and spoke at more than 350 seminars around the world.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy Day (who is also a Pitt faculty member); children Rachel and David (Karen); grandchildren Liv and Nova Silver, Gregory Asher (Michaun "Bunny" Asher) and Benjamin Asher, and Zachary and Dylan Lescisin, children of his late daughter, Dianne; brother Rabbi Michael (Robin) Asher; and nephews Ash (Erica) and Phillip (Kristin).
— Marty Levine