Frank Brian Mercer

Frank Brian Mercer, OBE, ( born December 22, 1927 in Blackburn, † 22 November 1998) was a British chemical engineer, founder and inventor.

Mercer came from a family of textile manufacturers in Blackburn and was a chemist.

He invented in the 1950s, a method of producing plastic nets ( Netlon Process), for which he was awarded the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement. In 1959 he founded to commercialize the company Netlon Ltd.. The late 1970s and early 1980s, he invented and founded geogrid 1983 ( with Gulf Canada) for recycling the company Tensar based in Atlanta (Georgia ). This Geosynthetics are used for soil improvement and as the reinforcement of roadways (Research in Nottingham in collaboration with Stephen F. Brown ).

In 1981 he became an OBE in 1984 and a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1973 he became a Fellow of the Textile Institute, and in 1978 a Fellow of the Institute of Materials. In 1978 he was awarded the Prince Philip Award.

He donated to the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for the feasibility to allow scientists to investigate the commercial and industrial exploitation of their research.

He was portrayed by Salvador Dali.