Superconductor Scientist Engaged in Research Misconduct, Probe Finds

A physicist who shot to fame with claims of the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor engaged in research misconduct, a committee tapped to examine his work has concluded after a monthslong investigation. From a report: Ranga Dias, a physicist at the University of Rochester in New York, has had at least four papers he co-wrote, including three involving superconductivity, retracted in the past 18 months by the journals that published them. A committee of outside experts tapped by the university "identified data-reliability concerns in those papers," a Rochester spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. "The committee concluded, in accordance with university policy and federal regulations, that Dias engaged in research misconduct," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The work in the papers was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Energy Department, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a private organization that funds scientific research. The Moore foundation discontinued its grant late last year, the organization said. Of the $1.6 million award, about $285,000 was spent. The university refunded the rest. The investigation follows three preliminary reviews by the university of one of the studies, published in Nature in 2020 and retracted in 2022 after criticism from other scientists. Those inquiries didn't find enough evidence to prompt a full investigation. Complaints sent to the university in spring 2023 about additional studies prompted a more thorough review. That investigation was completed by March this year, resulting in the misconduct finding. The journal Nature reported earlier this month that this investigation was complete.

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