The Astonishing Architecture of Fossil Starfish
Colin Sumrall, associate professor in the UT Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, presented “The Astonishing Architecture of Fossil Starfish” Friday, October 30 via Zoom. In his presentation, Sumrall explored fossil echinoderms (sea stars and allies). He discussed their use as building stones; the complex structure of their skeleton, which may have as many as two million elements; the microstructure of the elements that is both complex and beautiful; and the lattice structure of the calcite mineral from which the skeleton is built.
Colin Sumrall, associate professor in the UT Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, presented “The Astonishing Architecture of Fossil Starfish” Friday, October 30 via Zoom. In his presentation, Sumrall explored fossil echinoderms (sea stars and allies). He discussed their use as building stones; the complex structure of their skeleton, which may have as many as two million elements; the microstructure of the elements that is both complex and beautiful; and the lattice structure of the calcite mineral from which the skeleton is built.