Graduate Student Seminar
January 23, 2026
10:00 a.m. ET
CUC McConomy Auditorium
Retractions: On The Rise, But Not Enough
In 2000, there were about 40 retractions from the scholarly literature. In 2023, there were more than 10,000. That is a dramatic increase, even accounting for the growing number of papers published yearly. In this talk, I will explore the reasons for the increase, why it is good news, and why the actual number should be even higher. I will tell the stories of the sleuths who are finding problems in the literature, drawing on 15 years of experience at Retraction Watch. And I will argue that while these issues may be difficult to talk about, particularly as academia and scientific research comes under attack, now is not the time to fade into the shrubbery.
Ivan Oransky
Co-Founder, Retraction Watch
Ivan Oransky, MD, is co-founder of Retraction Watch and executive director of its parent nonprofit, The Center For Scientific Integrity. He is also editor in chief of The Transmitter and distinguished journalist in residence at New York University's Arthur Carter Journalism Institute. Ivan previously was president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and vice president of editorial at Medscape. He has also held editorial leadership positions at MedPage Today, Reuters Health, Scientific American and The Scientist. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2015 John P. McGovern Medal for excellence in biomedical communication from the American Medical Writers Association, and in 2020 the Council of Science Editors gave Retraction Watch the Award for Meritorious Achievement, their highest honor.
Upcoming Events
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February 13 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
Interfacial Fracture in Soft Polymer Networks: Revisiting Gent's Picture, presented by Gabriel Sanoja Lopez, University of Texas, Austin
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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February 20 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
High-Fidelity Atomistic Simulations of Chemistry-Microstructure Interactions in Metals, presented by Rodrigo Freitas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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February 25 2026
2:00 PM ET
Faculty Insights with Mario Berges
Please join us for CMU Engineering's virtual program, “Faculty Insights: A 20 Minute Briefing.” In this series, faculty will share insights into their research, its impact, and provide perspective for the future of the field.
Virtual, link provided to registrants
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February 27 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
presented by Tim Weihs, Johns Hopkins university
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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March 13 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
presented by Rachel Goldman, University of Michigan
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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March 20 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
Accelerating Battery Materials Discovery with AI- and Physics-Powered Molecular Universe Platform, presented by Yumin Zhang, SES AI
CUC McConomy Auditorium