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Lawrence M. Krauss, eminent theoretical physicist from Arizona State University, announced Sunday that he will leave the university at the end of the school year after several women have accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior.
In announcing his departure, Krauss denounced the university's investigation, which revealed that he had seized a woman's chest during an event in 2016 and claimed to have been treated unfairly. He has been on paid leave since March and the dean of his department recently recommended that the professor be fired from the university.
"Let's be clear: I have never harassed or assaulted anyone and I have certainly not discriminated between the sexes in my professional relationships at the university or elsewhere," he said. Dr. Krauss, 64, who joined the Arizona State in 2008, said in a statement on Twitter. "I look to the future to take on challenges and seize new opportunities."
He will remain on paid leave and will receive a salary of $ 265,000 until his retirement in May, announced the university. Dr. Krauss stated that the university had not allowed him to present his version of the story nor to "cross-examine him."
In response to his statement, a university spokesman said Mr. Krauss had misconstrued what had happened. "Dr. The description of our review process by Krauss is inaccurate, "said the spokesman, adding that he could have questioned witnesses at a hearing. "Dr. Krauss chose to retire rather than go ahead with this process. "
Dr. Krauss became known in 1995 with his book "The Physics of Star Trek" and became a recognized cosmologist and prolific writer of popular science works. Respected in the so-called "skeptical" movement, he asserted that science, not God, can explain how the universe could be created from almost anything. He also criticized attempts to teach creationism in the classroom and eliminate the theory of evolution from textbooks.
The announcement of his retirement has crowned a sharp drop in prestige and power in recent months. It started After Buzzfeed announced in February that several women had lodged allegations of sexual misconduct against him for a period of 10 years, including charges of fondling and sexist remarks. In Arizona State, an investigation was opened. In June, he had discovered that he had petted a woman during a photo taken at a ceremony in Australia in 2016 and had decided to withdraw some of her positions.
The woman told investigators that he had caught her chest after taking a picture together at a conference gala and then she did not post it on Facebook. The image, which she showed to the investigators, did not capture the alleged assault, but showed Dr. Krauss' arm on his shoulder, his hand in the air.
When the investigators asked him questions about the photo, Dr. Krauss said that his hand might have been taken to catch her after she had lost balance or that her hand had been extended to block the flash of the camera. according to the report of the university.
After the investigation, Mr. Krauss was dismissed as Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State, which he founded when he joined the university in 2008, as part of a research effort multidisciplinary approach to life, universe and complex social issues. He had previously taught for 15 years at Case Western Reserve University and had also written essays and opinion pieces published in the Times.
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