Date: 12 Feb 2008 16:43 From: Peter Makovicky To: Darren Naish Subject: Re: Ethics investigation re: Lucas and colleagues Hi Darren, I have heard some rumblings about this troubling case. While I do not wish to take sides in the current issue, I think that cases like this warrant an ethical inquiry. Science can only work if it is a self-policing institution, and adherence to rules of ethical conduct is crucial to the existence of open and productive discourse between scientists, which in turn advances our field. Cases of purported academic misconduct can be particularly difficult to investigate when the parties involved are working on similar / identical topics, but this does not mean that such investigations should be avoided. Investigations by an impartial third-party body such as a professional society are meant to protect the reputations and interests of both accuser and accused and provide a fair and unbiased means to dealing with problems that otherwise seem to grow an outsized life of their own in the rumor mill. If we as scientists can't keep our own house in order, we run the risk of losing our credibility as a community and with that, our funding sources and public impact Feel free to quote in part or full All the best, Pete Peter J. Makovicky Dept. of Geology The Field Museum 1400 S Lake Shore Drive Chicago IL, 60605 Ph: (312) 665 7633 Fax: (312) 665 7641 http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/aa/staff_page.cgi?staff=pmakovicky