Gerber, Sanford

"Sandy" Gerber was a prominent audiologist and speech-language pathologist known for his pioneering research in pediatric audiology and neonatal hearing screening.

Academic Leadership: He served as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) for 29 years (1965–1994). After retiring from UCSB, he founded the Department of Communication Disorders at Eastern Washington University, where he taught until 2000.

Research Focus: Dr. Gerber's work centered on infants and the early detection of hearing pathology. He authored 14 books and over 150 journal articles, including the book Prevention.

Industry & Government: Before his academic career, he was the head of speech and hearing research at Hughes Aircraft Co. and later served as an "Expert Research Linguist" for the National Security Agency (NSA) for approximately 15 years.

Organizational Leadership: He was the fourth president of the Society for Ear, Nose and Throat Advances in Children (SENTAC) and was notably the first non-MD to hold the position.