Chris Rowan is a geologist specialising in the dark arts of paleomagnetism, and getting people to pay him to travel to exotic destinations for fieldwork. Having drilled up New Zealand during his PhD, and South Africa in his first post-doc, he now works at the University of Edinburgh.It's no surprise that neither Bill Parker nor Jeff Martz were particularly impressed with the inquiry that wasn't, and they've both posted responses that should have been solicited anyway over at Mike Taylor's site. It's of particular interest to me that Parker has both electronic and eye-witness testimony which fairly clearly refutes some of the claims made in Spencer Lucas' submission about the dates and circumstances of his access to the NMMNHS palaeontological collection; an object lesson in why both sides should perhaps have been involved in the proceedings.
Just to make things official, these reponses form the core of a formal response (pdfs) to the inquiry's verdict, which has just been sent to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. It's hard to predict what, if anything, will happen now; not only has the response of the NMMNHS so far been almost as damaging as the original (very serious) allegations, but it has also burnt most of the bridges to a constructive and amicable resolution.
Education & Careers
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Thanks for the update, Chris. I personally doubt if we'll ever get a satisfactory response from anyone in New Mexico. Hopefully, the eventual report from the SVP ethics committee will provide a good resolution.
Posted by: chezjake | April 3, 2008 8:51 PM
Well said; the DCA inquiry was a farce, and tremendously damaging for all concerned. I'm waiting for the completion of the investigation by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Ethics Education Committee. I have no idea when that will be, but it seems to be the most hopeful basis for some substantive resolution, amicable or otherwise.
A statement from the SVP is available here: Statement from the Executive Committee regarding allegations against Spencer Lucas.
Posted by: Duae Quartunciae | April 3, 2008 8:56 PM