Frederick Gardner Cottrell

Frederick Gardner Cottrell was an American physical chemist who in 1907 invented the electrostatic precipitator, a device that removes fine particulate matter from an industrial gas stream by charging the particles electrically and collecting them on oppositely charged plates. His invention became the standard method for controlling particulate emissions from cement plants, smelters, oil refineries and coal-fired power stations, and remains one of the most widely used air pollution control technologies at power generation facilities today. Rather than keep the wealth his patent generated, Cottrell used the royalties to found the Research Corporation in 1912, a foundation that funded scientific research grants for decades afterward.