David Boris Pall (2 April 1914 – 21 September 2004), founder of

Pall Corporation Pall Corporation, headquartered in Port Washington, New York and a wholly owned subsidiary of Danaher Corporation since 2015, is a global supplier of filtration, separations and purification products. Total revenues for fiscal year 2014 were $2.8 ...

, was the chemist who invented the Pall filter used in

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

Education

Born in 1914 in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

of Russian immigrant parents, he grew up on a farm in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He attended

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, from which he was granted a bachelor's degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

Career

He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1938 and became a part of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. Pall worked on the design a filter to separate uranium 235 from uranium 238 using

sintered Sintering or frittage is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by pressure or heat without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens as part of a manufacturing process used with metals, ceramics, pla ...

stainless steel mesh. In 1946, he established

. The company's initial focus was on the development of filters for use in

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

hydraulics Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

. However, in 1959, when Dr. Pall's first wife, Josephine, died of

aplastic anemia Aplastic anemia (AA) is a severe hematologic condition in which the body fails to make blood cells in sufficient numbers. Normally, blood cells are produced in the bone marrow by stem cells that reside there, but patients with aplastic anemia ...

, he began to work on the ''Pall filter''. Mrs. Pall had undergone multiple blood transfusions in the course of an illness, which were ultimately unsuccessful. His Pall filter was designed to make blood transfusions significantly safer by filtering out

white blood cell White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign entities. White blood cells are genera ...

s, thereby reducing the incidence of

transfusion reaction Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but ...

s and

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

infections. Pall expanded the business, adding additional products. Today, Pall Corporation has sales in excess of $2.0 Billion.

Achievements

In his lifetime, Dr. Pall received over 180

patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

and in 1990, he received the United States National Medal of Technology from President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

.David B. Pall, 90; Invented Filters for Blood
/ref> Pall was a trustee of the

North Shore University Hospital North Shore University Hospital (formerly known as North Shore Hospital) is a part of Northwell Health. It is one of two primary teaching hospitals for the Zucker School of Medicine (along with LIJ), offering residency programs, postgraduate t ...

Death and legacy

Pall died of complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

at his last home in

Roslyn Estates, New York Roslyn Estates is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Incorporated Village of Rosl ...

. Pall's grandson is music producer Alex Pall of

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The electronic dance music, EDM-Pop music, pop duo achieved a breakth ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pall, David 1914 births 2004 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state) Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Canadian emigrants to the United States National Medal of Technology recipients American people of Russian descent People from Thunder Bay American physical chemists Canadian physical chemists