Update (January 18): Science Insider reports that Battelle has reinstated its scientific advisory panel after criticism of its disbandment.
Sharon Collinge has resigned midway through what was to be her two-year term as the chief scientist and principal investigator at the National Ecological Observatory Network, Science Insider reports. NEON is an initiative by the National Science Foundation that aims to collect ecological data at 81 sites across the United States beginning this year; according to Science Insider, it has a construction budget of $469 million.
“I have not been granted the authority to be successful,” Collinge wrote in her resignation letter on January 8. She will return to the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she is a professor of environmental studies. Soil scientist Eugene Kelly of Colorado State University will replace her on an interim basis.
The resignation stems from the firing of two employees of the contractor for the ...
