Henry I. Abrash

1935 - 2023

September 27, 1935 - July 31, 2023 Henry Abrash, age 87, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 31, 2023.

The second child of Irving Abrash and Sarah Dimond, Henry grew up in New Jersey sailing, fishing, and camping alongside his brother Ross and sister Eleanor. He was the beloved husband to Barbara Abrash, father to Ingrid Abrash, uncle to Samuel, Deborah, Daniel, Simon, Laura, Mendy, Michelle and Kirsten and great-uncle to many grand nieces and nephews.

He was an undergraduate at Harvard University (1952-1956), earning his B.A. in Chemistry magna cum laude, and a graduate student at Caltech (1956-1961) with biochemist and mentor Professor Carl Niemann. Henry joined California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 1961 as a physical organic chemistry faculty member. In 1968 and 1974 Henry conducted research at Carlsberg Laboratories in Copenhagen, where he developed a deep love for all things Danish.

He published 18 research articles during his career, the first in 1956 while as a student research volunteer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the last in 2001. Henry also published a well-received General Chemistry textbook, titled "Chemistry," with Kenneth Hardcastle, in 1981. Henry served as CSUN Faculty President from 1988 to 1990 and Chair of the Department from 1995 to 1998.

In addition to his faculty role, Henry was very active in outreach activities in chemistry. He joined the American Chemical Society (ACS) while a graduate student and remained a member for more than 50 years, first becoming part of the Education Committee for the Southern California Section in 1969. Henry served this Section as Alternate Councilor for five separate terms, and served as Councilor for the 1997-99 term. He was elected Chair of the Southern California Section in 1995, and continued to fulfill many other roles for the ACS, including chairing a Teachers' Symposium, serving on the Section Directory Committee and as the Tolman Award Committee Chair. Henry was a major presence in the Section's National Chemistry Week and Earth Day activities, participating in the High School Chemistry Contest, and the National Chemistry Olympiad examination. His service to the ACS was recognized by the Outreach Volunteer of the Year Award in 2014 and the Agnes Ann Green Distinguished Service Award in 2000.

Since retirement, Henry volunteered his time widely, including at the California Science Center. Henry's greatest joy (besides Carlsberg beer, speaking Danish and dogs) was to see his students realize that science is fun. He loved teaching and mentoring, and believed that the world is vast, with endless questions to be answered through hypothesis, experimentation, and thoughtful research.

The funeral will take place on August 13, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Mt. Sinai, Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, Henry's family has set up an endowment in Henry's name, "The Wonderment Scholarship in Chemistry in Memory of Dr. Henry I. Abrash." Wonderment -- because Henry was a big kid with endless curiosity about how the world worked. He always knew he wanted to be a chemistry professor, so he could share this curiosity with other like-minded seekers, or in other words, find other big kids who also wanted to play and explore.

The link to donate can be found below.

http://engage.csun.edu/abrashschol