Big Award By Army Sparks Debate On Control Of Academic Research

University of Minnesota math chairman resigns in controversy after his school is awarded a $67 million computer center contract MINNEAPOLIS -- Six months after the successful end to a heated competition to win a $67 million supercomputer research grant from the Army, University of Minnesota computer scientist Ettore Infante is trying to track down a bumper sticker portraying him as a warmonger. "It shows me on the head of a missile," says the genial dean of the university's Institute of Techn

Written byJim Dawson

| 5 min read

Listen with Speechify

0:00

5:00

University of Minnesota math chairman resigns in controversy after his school is awarded a $67 million computer center contract

MINNEAPOLIS -- Six months after the successful end to a heated competition to win a $67 million supercomputer research grant from the Army, University of Minnesota computer scientist Ettore Infante is trying to track down a bumper sticker portraying him as a warmonger.

"It shows me on the head of a missile," says the genial dean of the university's Institute of Technology. "My hair is bent back with sparks coming off. I hear it's something. And I'm holding a lit bomb."

Infante has been unable to find the bumper sticker, reportedly put out by a student group protesting the Army contract. And he's not much concerned that the sentiment behind it is shared by many members of the institute's mathematics department.

Infante is convinced the Army contract, the largest single grant ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here