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May 2000

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Subject:
From:
"Kasprzak, Bill (esd) USX" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
TechNet E-Mail Forum.
Date:
Mon, 22 May 2000 07:47:31 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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text/plain (125 lines)
David:

I feel badly for your situation. If it made you feel better to tell your
side of the story on the 'net, that's great.

But like everything else, there are two sides to every story. I (we) would
like to know what this 'conflict of interest' might be. Could it be that a
corporate counsel advised your company that they could be sued for something
contained in the paper? I generally find that, and we sometimes disagree,
companies always make decisions which are best for the company. I don't
believe it has anything to do with you personally. This kind of disjointed
decision making occurs all the time.

This is only my opinion. Do not perceive this as me being against you. Good
luck, I am a firm believer in 'Things happen for a reason'. I think
somewhere down the road, this will be the case.

Bill Kasprzak
Moog Inc.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Douthit [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2000 1:22 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      [TN] Bad Day at Black Rock
>
> On May 17th I was scheduled to present a paper titled "Conformal
> Coatings and Harsh Environments" at the Fourth Joint DoD/FAA/NASA
> Conference on Aging Aircraft.
>
> On Tuesday morning May 16th I was informed by my current employer that
> not only was
> I not going to be allowed to present the paper but that I was not to
> discuss the contents of this paper with anyone. The reason given was it
> was a possible "Conflict Of Interest" (COI).
>
> This paper represents over 7 years of research (4 years while working
> for my current employer) and first hand experience (gained while working
> for a previous employer).
> All of the research work was done on my own time and at my own expense.
> I have made 5 previous presentations on this subject and have been
> published twice.
> My current employer was aware of this previous activity and was also
> aware of the May 17th
> presentation months ahead of time.
>
> The presentation was stopped by one person who is located 2000 miles and
> 2 divisions away from my current working area (my current job has
> absolutely nothing to do with anything contained in the paper). During a
> conversation I had with this person I was informed he did not agree with
> certain parts of my paper but other areas had merit. This is the reason
> he stopped the paper.
>
> The most painful moment of my professional career was telling a room
> full of my fellow professionals at the conference, that after 7 years
> plus thousands of hours and dollars of my own time and money, I could
> not talk to them!
>
> I consider the decision of this one individual to stop the presentation
> and publication of my paper an insult to the technical paper selection
> committees for the SAE AEMR98 conference, the APEX2000 conference (Jack
> Crawford!! I hope you are listening. You are about to get a very
> interesting phone call!), the Aging Aircraft Conference, and the
> Binghamton University Developments in Advanced Packaging Reliability
> Symposium (for which I was selected to be one of instructors July
> 31st-August 2nd). I do not believe I will be allowed to attend this
> symposium!
>
> A bigger insult is to you, my fellow professionals. It denies you the
> opportunity to review, discuss, and critique my work because one person
> does not agree with some of the issues in my paper. But the biggest
> danger is the insult to the entire conference process. The censoring of
> individual personal efforts dilutes the quality and lowers the quantity
> of useful information and ideas presented in these meetings.
>
> If this censorship continues I may be forced into the ludicrous position
> of being the only truck driver in the world writing papers and making
> presentations on electronic equipment reliability and contamination!
>
> Currently, no decision has been made as to whether or not a conflict of
> interest really exists (I don't hold much hope for a favorable answer).
> I am not allowed to distribute copies of my own paper (even though it
> has been published by the IPC and is the public domain - I think??!!) I
> cannot communicate with anyone outside my company about the contents of
> this paper. I don't even know if I will be allowed to continue the work
> I have been doing on three IPC committees. (Hello Jack! My company may
> want to review my efforts on the coating handbook committee for
> "Conflicts of Interest"!)
>
> The level of my frustration and anger is far beyond measure!
>
> Thank you letting me "vent my spleen".
>
> David A. Douthit
>
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