Local Professor Resorts to Marginalizing Critics Over Costly Research

Pacific University Professor, David Scholnick, will be remembered as the marine biologist who fashioned a shrimp treadmill all in the name of science. While the treadmill was a very small part of his research, no one can claim the research he conducted cost a small amount.

At one point in the timeline of the controversial story that began in 2009, Scholnick claimed his research cost up to $3 million dollars. In his recent sarcastic blasts against his naysayers, he calls his critics "disingenuous." He also says politicians would not have to be "mental giants" to figure out they were wrong and accuses them of thwarting the safety of food raised in "the largest ecosystem on the planet," oceans. What he doesn't seem to provide in his rant is an actual accounting of what he spent on this research of great import.

In fact, one might even question his claim that he spent $3 million since his research was actually a segment of a a larger project funded by The National Science Foundation for $426,000.

It can be argued most average taxpayers appreciate science and the creativity needed to conduct experiments to achieve accurate results. Those same taxpayers appreciate honesty and fiscal responsibility in conducting science.