MIT chemist, inspired by nature, wins $500K award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemist who created hybrid organic-inorganic materials used to make environmentally friendly batteries and clean fuel was named winner Tuesday of the annual $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize for mid-career inventors.

Angela Belcher, 45, a world leader in nanotechnology, was initially motivated by the abalone shell during her time spent by the ocean as an undergraduate at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The shell of the abalone sea snail is comprised of 98 percent calcium carbonate — an inorganic compound — and 2 percent organic protein. The combination makes the shell 3,000 times tougher.