He is best known for his research in the field of organic chemistry and his service as president of the American Chemical Society and is listed among notable alumni by the Cornell University Graduate School.
degree in chemistry from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and received his Ph.D. in three years from Cornell University in 1960, where he studied under Jerrold Meinwald.
[3] He continued at Cornell as a postdoctoral fellow before his appointment as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Ohio State University.
[2] Gassman's work centered in the areas of organic reaction mechanisms (including the Gassman indole synthesis), mechanisms of catalysis (including hydrocarbon metathesis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclo-addition reactions, enzyme mechanisms, organoelectro-chemistry, carbanion chemistry, synthesis of heterocyclic molecules, oxidation of hydrocarbons, nitrenium ion chemistry, and electron-transfer reactions.
Despite emergency open-heart surgery the following day, he suffered irreversible brain damage and died aged 57 on April 21 without regaining consciousness.