Michael Mann may be one of the most highly-scrutinized scientists in the world today.
Since Virginia Attorney General and University alumnus Ken Cuccinelli filed subpoenas demanding the release of his research in April 2010, the former University professor has made headlines worldwide.
Mann, who taught at the University from 1999 to 2005, now directs the Earth Science Systems Center at Pennsylvania State University. Despite his move north, criticism remains focused on his time at the University.
Cuccinelli claims that Mann's research on global warming defrauds tax payers by using government money to fund suspect research. Although a judge rejected the demand in August 2010, Cucinelli appealed the case, which is now stalled in the Supreme Court of Virginia.
To exacerbate matters for Mann, the American Traditional Institute filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the University, resulting in the release of nearly 4,000 of Mann's documents two weeks ago. Last week, Mann initiated legal proceedings to prevent ATI from accessing further files.
While Mann has gained increasing notoriety in the attorney general's office and with conservative think tanks, his efforts to protect his work have gained the respect of fellow scientists and scholars.\n"Mike [Mann] is standing up for academic freedom by objecting to the misuses of that kind of information," Environmental Sciences Research Prof. Bill Keene said.
Mann is best known for his "hockey stick" graph, a visual representation published in 1998 of climate warming since the industrial revolution. The data show an upturn in global temperature, and provide a scientific basis for theories of global warming.
Keene characterizes the graph as "a visceral description" of the phenomenon.
"People thought climate change was happening in the future, but it's happening now," he said. "That graph really captured a lot of people's imagination."
Keene added this graph does not sit well with conservative ideologues. Mann has forcefully responded to their attacks and proudly accepts his role in the fight against those who do not believe that human activity affects climate change.
"A personal hero of mine, Steve Schneider ... once told me to wear the attacks by climate change deniers as a badge of honor; that they were simply an indication of the importance of my work, and the threat that the significance of my research findings held for those doing the bidding of vested interests," Mann said in an email.
Controversy of this sort is nothing new to Mann, who called recent events "just the latest in these unseemly efforts to discredit me." Nevertheless, the legal battles Cuccinelli and ATI have waged have taken their toll.
"I think it's aged him," Keene said. "I think it's very tough to be able to face this same kind of abuse all the time."
If ATI gains access to the additional 5,000 documents still under review by the University, Mann's personal correspondence while at the University would become "fodder for cherry picking," Keene said.
"The inclination is to protect yourself, and that's what Mike's tried to do," Keene said. "I think he's done it not just to protect himself, but to protect the science. He's on the front line of this and now our University's on the front lines."
In Mann's view, the battle between science and ideologically-driven groups has been waged for years.
"I think it's as important today as it has been for centuries for scientists to stand up against the efforts to undermine science by those with an agenda," Mann said. "Whether it be the medical science that demonstrated the adverse health impacts of cigarette smoking, the harm done by environmental contaminants and carcinogens, or the damage to our climate being done by our continued reliance on fossil fuels, science and scientists have been targeted for decades by industry special interests who consider scientific findings inconvenient to their financial interests.
Similarly, his colleagues do not believe that public scrutiny will bar the development of climate change research.
"In the long term people are going to look back and all of these activities [debates] are going to be seen as road bumps towards doing something about climate change," Asst. Environmental Science Prof. Amato Evan said.
-Grace Hollis contributed with reporting
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