The University of Delaware has been "reprimanded" recently for citing that one of its distinguished professors share the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. The university took immediate action and said that it was the result of a simple error.
"The University follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's guidelines on references to its 2007 Nobel Prize. The website in question is new as is the individual who posted the incorrect information on the site. It was a simple error on the University's part created by cutting and pasting from outdated text, " a University of Delaware spokesperson said.
It can be remembered that prior to the statement, Junk Science brought into the university's attention that a page on its website provided wrong information about John Byrne as sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which former Vice-President Al Gore was also a part of.
According to the website page, which provides information to prospective students about Environmental Policy, John Byrne is a distinguished professor of Energy and Climate who has contributed to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports since 1992. It also stated further that the professor was a member of a working group who received the Nobel Prize in 2007.
Junk Science stated that even though the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize, the IPCC issued a memo that says the leadership of the organization has agreed to send personalized certificates which feature a copy of the Prize to those scientists who have made substantial contributions to the reports. These include coordinating lead authors, lead authors, staff of the technical review units, Bureau members, review editors, and staff of the secretariat who had been part from the very beginning of IPCC since 1988. On the other hand, it also added that it did not send "such certificates to contributing authors, experts reviewers, and focal points."
After the spokeswoman issued the statement, she also added that the university has taken immediate action and corrected the error.
