spacetoday.net: Exoplanet astronomer resigns from university after sexual harassment scandal

Posted: Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 6:22 PM ET (2222 GMT)
A famous astronomer who is a pioneer in the study of extrasolar planets resigned this week from the University of California Berkeley after an investigation found he violated the university's sexual harassment policies. Geoff Marcy resigned from the faculty of the university's astronomy department Wednesday, less than a week after a report publicized an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. The investigation found that Marcy had violated university rules, but did not provide any specific punishment beyond The reports generated an outcry among the astronomy community, including calls by many of Marcy's faculty colleagues for him to resign. Marcy was among the first astronomers to discover planets around Sun-like stars twenty years ago.