Herman Samuel Bloch (June 15, 1912 – June 16, 1990) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chemist and an

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. Bloch invented the catalytic converter, a device that removes pollutants from automobile exhaust fumes. Bloch held more than 270 patents.National Academies Press, V.87
/ref> He was the deputy director of research of the aerospace company

AlliedSignal AlliedSignal was an American aerospace, automotive and engineering company created through the 1985 merger of Allied Corp. and Signal Companies. It subsequently purchased Honeywell for $14.8 billion in 1999, and thereafter adopted the Honeywell n ...

Inc, and chairman of the Cook County Housing Authority.Herman Bloch, inventor, county housing official
/ref> He received the Chemical Pioneer Award in 1989 from the American Institute of Chemists. He received the Ernest J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis, the E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry in 1974, and the Richard J. Kokes Memorial Award and Lectureship from Johns Hopkins University in 1971. Bloch was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1975.

Career

Bloch was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Ukrainian-JewishAbraham Scheinberg & Harry Cohen, ''American Jews: Their Lives and Achievements: A Contemporary Biographical Record'', vol. 2, American Jewish Literary Foundation (1958), p. 784 immigrants Aaron and Esther Bloch. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1936 from the University of Chicago.

References

External links

James P. Shoffner, "Herman Samuel Bloch", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2005)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Herman S. 1912 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American chemists Jewish American scientists Jewish chemists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Scientists from Chicago University of Chicago alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century American inventors 20th-century American Jews