Sir
The members of the advisory board of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology in Vienna were surprised by erroneous statements in your News story “Viennese lab renovations stall as cash goes unspent” (Nature 434, 550; 200510.1038/434550b). The reader is left with the wrong impression that a substantial proportion of the advisory board's membership is critical both of the work of Dustin Penn as its director and of the allocation of the institute's finances.
As chair of the board, I feel obliged to clearly state, in the name of the board, that its members fully support Penn and his research plans.
It is correct that renovations and construction of facilities are needed. However, Penn is in no way to be blamed for the delay of these activities, which have turned out to be much more difficult than could have been anticipated.
The board is also aware of unspent money. However, this money has been put aside for investments needed when the new facilities are completed.
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Nature has learned from several sources that the board of the Konrad Lorenz Institute is not unanimous in its support for the work of its director. Nature therefore stands by the content of this News story — Editor, Nature.
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Barth, F. Head of Lorenz Institute is not to blame for delays. Nature 435, 413 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/435413c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/435413c
