Bloch invented the catalytic converter, a device that removes pollutants from automobile exhaust fumes.
[2] He was the deputy director of research of the aerospace company AlliedSignal Inc, and chairman of the Cook County Housing Authority.
[3] He received the Chemical Pioneer Award in 1989 from the American Institute of Chemists.
[5] Bloch was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975.
His parents were Ukrainian-Jewish[6][7] immigrants Aaron and Esther Bloch.