INDIANA NEWS

A Purdue University panel has found two instances of research misconduct by a scientist who claimed he produced nuclear fusion in tabletop experiments.

Rusi Taleyarkhan said in research published in 2002 that he had used a simple experiment to unleash fusion. Since then, other scientists, including some at Purdue's campus in West Lafayette, have tried without success to independently reproduce his fusion work.

An investigative committee, which included representatives from several universities, in April submitted its report on allegations against Taleyarkhan to the Office of Naval Research, which funded some of Taleyarkhan's research. Purdue said Friday that the office accepted the report, calling it prompt, thorough and objective.

The report found that Taleyarkhan falsely claimed independent confirmation of his experiment results. The panel also found that he added another person as an author of research, even though the person did not substantially contribute to the publication. Both were instances of research misconduct, panel members said.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Friday with Taleyarkhan and his attorney. Taleyarkhan has contended in the past that other scientists have in fact replicated his work and accuses his critics of conflict of interest, jealousy and other motives. He filed a defamation lawsuit this year in Tippecanoe County accusing two Purdue professors of trying to "destroy" him "and his reputation."

Panel members said the investigation gave them a glimpse into both human and institutional failings.

"From small beginnings there developed a tangled web of wishful thinking, scientific misjudgment, institutional lapses and human failings," the committee wrote. "Each strand could have been resolved separately, but knitting them together produced a crisis."

University policy includes a 30-day appeal process for Taleyarkhan. Purdue said it will not comment on the report's content during that period, but David J. Williams, who chairs the Purdue University Senate's Faculty Affairs Committee, said the document is an unflinching look at the case.

"Issues of research integrity are of the utmost importance to the university," Williams said.

Any decision on sanctions by the university would come after the appeals process is over, Purdue spokesman Joseph Bennett said. The Office of Naval Research, located in Alexandria, Va., told Purdue to provide it a summary of corrective action taken to prevent future problems. The office said the case will remain open until any corrective action occurs.

The report is the latest in a series of reviews of allegations against Taleyarkhan, a professor of nuclear engineering whose "bubble fusion" claims have been dogged for years by allegations of research misconduct and possible fraud.

A congressional subcommittee chided the school last year for "numerous failures" in its handling of an earlier probe that cleared Taleyarkhan of allegations that he interfered with efforts to verify his bubble fusion claims.

Taleyarkhan published research in the journal Science in 2002 claiming he had produced fusion — the force that powers stars — using a tabletop experiment that involved collapsing bubbles in a solvent with powerful ultrasound vibrations. That simple experiment stood in contrast to nuclear fusion research that has to date required large, multibillion-dollar machines in the quest to unleash what could be an unlimited energy source.

___

On the Web:

The panel's full report: http://tinyurl.com/5zxky6

Office of Naval Research letter: http://tinyurl.com/5o7hp4