Climate scientist Michael Mann, who created the now-infamous “hockey stick” global warming graph, has been cleared of research misconduct after a four-month internal investigation by Penn State University.
Mann had been under investigation for allegations of research impropriety that surfaced last year after thousands of stolen e-mails were published online in an incident that became known as “Climategate.”
The panel of leading scholars from various research fields, all tenured professors at Penn State, began its work on March 4 to look at whether Mann had “engaged in, directly or indirectly, any actions that seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing, conducting or reporting research or other scholarly activities,” according to a release from the university.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has launched his own investigation seeking records on Mann from the University of Virginia. Mann is a former professor at UVa.
The University of Virginia this week filed a brief supporting its petition to set aside Cuccinelli’s investigation.
“We will address any arguments that the University of Virginia has posed when we file our court brief on July 13,” Cuccinelli spokesman Brian Gottstein wrote in an e-mail on Thursday. “We do not intend to address issues outside of the courtroom.”
