Stephen Mann. Portrait of Professor Stephen Mann,British chemist and inventor of calcium carbonate synthetic shells,holding a sea urchin shell. The synthetic shells,useful for medical implants,catalyst supports,membranes and lightweight materials,were first produced by Mann and Doctor Dominic Walsh at Bath University,Britain. The shells are hollow and porous and resemble the shells constructed by certain marine algae. Many other marine organisms,such as the sea urchin,also construct shells from calcium carbonate. These shells have an elaborate,microscopic structure which makes them stronger than a solid structure of an equivalent weight |