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Letters to the Editor
The [Lafayette, Indiana] Journal & Courier

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Disputing charges against professor

On Saturday, the Journal & Courier published "Navy blocks Purdue professor's federal funding." This article stated that Purdue University professor Rusi Taleyarkhan was found guilty by his university on "two of 12 charges" of research misconduct.

This is incorrect.

The Purdue inquiry committee forwarded 12 charges to the investigation committee. But the two charges, A.2 and B.2, were not among them.

Somebody on the investigation committee -- I do not know whom -- fabricated them. A.2 did not exist in the first committee, and B.2 had been dismissed by it. A.2 and B.2 magically appeared.

(http://newenergytimes.com/v2/bubblegate/2008/ PurdueResearchIntegrityCommittee Fabricates Allegations.shtml) A five-minute video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPZ0H4wZj04) also explains this.

It might help readers to know exactly what Taleyarkhan did.

First, he encouraged student Adam Butt to work on a research paper with Yiban Xu. Second, he mutually agreed with his five co-authors to use the word "independent" on another paper they published.

There is nothing improper, unethical or illegal about these actions. The assertion that Taleyarkhan has been guilty in any way of research misconduct is wrong and unprofessional. The evidence is clear. (http://newenergytimes.com/v2/news/2009/NET33Cdfkj5.shtml)

Unfortunately, because Taleyarkhan has had the courage to work in a controversial area of science, he was an easy target for several of his academic peers who had ulterior motives.

Steven B. Krivit
Editor, New Energy Times
San Rafael, Calif.

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