David J Paulson – Partner

Mr. Paulson has a long and successful career in membrane filtration, water purification and fluid separations. He is a pioneer in membrane technology and a successful market builder in the membrane industry. While serving 25 years as the senior technology manager for Osmonics Inc, a NYSE-listed separations company that is now the core of GE Water and Process Technologies, he helped build the company's technology and its major markets. Over 30 years Mr. Paulson held management positions that include Director Corporate R&D, membrane manufacturing manager, product engineering, QA/QC leader, senior manager for both regulatory compliance and intellectual property management.

Osmonics was one of the original big five membrane companies and a key player in the rise of membrane technology and its applications in water purification, waste treatment and especially manufacturing processes. Mr. Paulson's technology group was instrumental in developing and promoting the company's broad technology base, and developed scores of new products and applications, including new uses in medical, pharmaceutical, potable water and food processing. Mr. Paulson is an expert in design and performance characterization of membrane and filter products, and led Osmonics in the design of component products, test devices, machines and hybrid systems. His group developed specialized products, test methodologies, laboratory procedures and system designs for critical grade water applications and microbe removal capabilities. Osmonics was founded in 1969 and acquired by General Electric in 2003.

Mr. Paulson was also charged with corporate intellectual property management and managed corporate legal efforts in the acquisition and defense of patents, trademarks, trade secrets, licenses, and the IP component of joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions. He has current expertise on global regulations for products and applications in the fields of potable water, pharmaceutical/biotechnology and food processing. As Global Product Stewardship Leader for GE Water, he managed compliance to EPA and FDA regulations for critical applications, product certification to NSF/ANSI standards, and pioneered methods for compliance of products to European directives for food and potable water safety.

He maintains a detailed knowledge of emerging technology, use of nano-materials in liquid separations and membrane technology improvements. He remains active in advising university research programs and industry consortia in technology advances and new applications. The author of more than 40 technical papers, he continues to write and present. Mr. Paulson also serves as peer reviewer for scientific journals in membrane and food processing technology and for various technology publications. He was a peer reviewer and contributor to the US EPA Membrane Filtration Guidance Manual, which aids municipalities in complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act. He is a long-term member of the AIChE and currently sits on the AWWA Membrane Systems committee, is a co-chair of the ASTM committee on membrane, and sits on NSF International task groups for emerging contaminants and a new membrane standard.