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This title in other editionsOther titles in the MacMillan Science series:Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World (MacMillan Science)by Eugenie Samuel Reich
Review-A-Day"Reich, a former reporter and editor at New Scientist, has done a remarkable amount of sleuthing. Her account is based on interviews with 125 scientists and journal editors, several of whom also shared unpublished correspondence, e-mails, article drafts and more. She undertook some forensics of her own as well, unearthing a few more instances of Schon's chicanery that had been missed." David Kaiser, American Scientist read the entire American Scientist review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:This is the story of wunderkind physicist Jan Hendrik Schon who faked the discovery of a new superconductor made from plastic. A star researcher at the world-renowned Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, he claimed to have stumbled across a powerful method for making carbon-based crystals into transistors, the switches found on computer chips. Had his experiments worked, they would have paved the way for huge advances in technology — computer chips that we could stick on a dress or eyewear, or even use to make electronic screens as thin and easy-to-fold as sheets of paper. But as other researchers tried to recreate Schon's experiments, the scientific community learned that it had been duped. Why did so many top experts, including Nobel prize-winners, support Schon? What led the major scientific journals to publish his work, and promote it with press releases? And what drove Schon, by all accounts a mild-mannered, modest and obliging young man, to tell such outrageous lies? Review:"Reich, a former editor at New Science, unravels the absorbing story of Jan Hendrik Schon, a researcher at the prestigious Bell Laboratories from 1998 to 2002, who achieved star status in cutting-edge materials technology-super-conductivity, lasers, nanotechnology-by falsifying data. A graduate of Germany's 'low key' University of Konstanz, he dove immediately into 'a demanding environment... known for big discoveries, ambitious expectations.' When his papers on experiments with organic crystals were rejected, he manipulated data and made false claims; publication followed. When the tech bubble burst, Bell came under increasing pressure from parent company Lucent to justify its existence; short-circuiting the normal process of peer review, the lab turned to public relations, 'press-releasing exciting scientific findings' to fool investors, customers and Lucent into believing Bell had 'a sound long-term technological future.' Reich's clear explanation gives general readers a real sense of the excitement generated in the scientific community by Schon's 'discoveries,' how he made them appear credible and how his ability to dissemble eventually failed him; he also raises profound ethical questions that resonate with current concerns over science and its place in the public sphere." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"A brilliant study of scientific fraud." Financial Times Book of the Year Review:"…a wonderful piece of forensic writing." Financial Times Review:"Plastic Fantastic offers a compelling, timely and well-written dissection of our era's most outrageous scientific fraud, and of what it means for science today." American Scientist Magazine Review:"Reich's account is meticulously researched, based on interviews with over 120 scientists, friends and editors. It is gripping stuff: a surprising page-turner that is well worth reading." New Scientist Synopsis:Highly regarded science journalist Eugenie Samuel Reich recounts the case of wunderkind physicist Jan Hendrik Schön, who faked the discovery of a new superconductor at the world famous Bell Laboratories. Many of the world’s top scientific journals and experts, including Nobel Prize-Winners, supported Schön, only to learn that they were the victims of the biggest fraud in science. What drove Schön, by all accounts a mild-mannered, modest, and obliging young man, to tell such outrageous lies? Reich dives into the riveting world of science to examine how fraud perpetuates itself today. Schön’s rise and fall will be an essential and fascinating account of the missteps of the scientific community for years to come. About the AuthorEugenie Samuel Reich is a former editor at New Scientist. She has written for Nature, New Scientist, and The Boston Globe, and is known for her hard hitting reports on irregular science. Several of her reports have resulted in institutional investigations. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Table of ContentsIntroduction * Into the Woods * Hendrik * A Slave to Publication * Greater Expectations * Not Ready to be a Product * Journals with “Special Status” * Scientists Astray * Plastic Fantastic * The Nanotechnology Department * The Fraud Taboo * ‘Game Over’ * Epilogue * Notes and Additional References What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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