"I knew ultimately I'd be vindicated by a fair review of the facts," Mann said. "Now we can all hopefully get back to doing research."
This case is unusual in that the investigation was prompted by calls and e-mail from university alumni, state and local politicians, and others, according to a draft of the report. Usually, universities launch scientific fraud investigations only when specific charges are brought by a colleague.
A draft of the report released Thursday concluded that "the Investigatory Committee after careful review of all available evidence, determined that there is no substance to the allegations against Dr. Michael E. Mann, professor, Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University."
Mann is best known for advancing the use of tree rings, ice cores, corals, and other indirect measures to reconstruct the global climate over the last millennium. His graphs tracing global temperature history have been dubbed the "hockey stick" because the temperatures appear to rise sharply during the last century.
According to the report, the panelists decided that without any formal charges against Mann, they would have to use the various complaints to "synthesize" allegations against him. They came up with four categories:
Falsifying or suppressing data.
Deleting, concealing, or otherwise destroying e-mail associated with a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the main international scientific group charged with informing policy.
Misusing privileged or confidential information.
Deviating from accepted practices within the academic community.
