NAS Considers Expulsion of Two Scientists for Sexual Harassment

The National Academy of Sciences is reviewing complaints about astronomer Geoffrey Marcy and geneticist Francisco Ayala, who left their academic positions following investigations at their institutions.

Written byCatherine Offord

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Update (October 24, 2022): Archeologist Luis Jaime Castillo Butters has filed a lawsuit against the National Academy of Sciences and its president, Marcia McNutt, alleging that the two made defamatory statements about him. The move, which was reported last week by independent journalist Michael Balter, follows a previous defamation lawsuit against one of his accusers in Peru, Marcela Poirier. That lawsuit was successful, resulting in the issuing of $48,400 fine and a suspended jail sentence, although Poirier has appealed the verdict, Science reports.

Update (October 18): The US National Academy of Sciences has expelled a third member, Peruvian archeologist Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, after an investigation by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru concluded that he had sexually harassed several students, Science reports. Castillo Butters, who remains a professor at the university, tells Science that he denies the allegations.

Update (June 25): Francisco Ayala has now ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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