Jim Green, 19 Feb 16 Brook is the academic who was insisting that there was no risk of a serious accident at Fukushima even as nuclear meltdown was in full swing. With that sort of pedigree, it was no surprise that he was appointed to the ‘Expert Advisory Panel’ of the SA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conmission.
Brook’s university website says that in 2005 he was listed as one of the “2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century”. But it appears to be an award-for-purchase. It’s offered by the International Biographical Centre (IBC), an organisation that spams academics around the world, suggesting that their sterling work has come to the attention of the IBC, which is assembling a list of the top scientists in the world … and for just a small fee to help cover costs ($300-$500) they will include your name in a list of outstanding scientists. So is this an award-for-purchase (it certainly appears so), and if so are any of Brook’s other awards purchased?
The WA Government’s Dept of Commerce lists the IBC on its ‘scamnet’ website. The WA Dept of Commerce states: “The material promoting the International Biographical Centre creates a false impression about the credentials of the organisation. It also wrongly implies that the receiver of the letter has been picked through a special research process considering their work and qualifications. A publication, only available to those who pay to be in it, is similar to other directory schemes. Internet blog site users describe them as “phone books with fake leather covers” and a “Who’s Who of gullible people”. WA ScamNet would advise people to consider carefully how much they are willing to pay for an ego boost which isn’t necessarily worth the paper it is written on.”
An SA academic nominated a squeaky lobster toy for inclusion as one of the “2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century” … and the nomination for Prof. Lobster was duly accepted by the IBC, pending payment of the fee!
Anyway I guess you know where this is leading … can someone lend me $300-500?
Sources:
- Brook’s Tas Uni website (see the Career tab, under “Awards and Prizes”): https://secure.utas.edu.au/profiles/staff/plant-science/barry-brook
- IBC: www.internationalbiographicalcentre.com/2000_outstanding_scientists_of_the_21st_c.php
- WA Government ‘scamnet’ website: http://www.scamnet.wa.gov.au/scamnet/Scam_Types-Directory_Listings_and_registry_schemes-International_Biographical_Centre.htm
- Wikipedia IBC entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Biographical_Centre
- Critique of Brook’s nuclear propaganda: www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/oz/barry-brook-bravenewclimate
