In July of 2002, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) fired Victor Ninov, a nuclear physicist who led a team of scientists who reported the discovery of elements 116 (ununhexium) and 118 (ununoctium). Element 118 would have been the heaviest element on the periodic table. Ninov was dismissed after a five-month investigation by the laboratory uncovered falsified data. In September of 2001, after several failed attempts by many teams to reproduce the results, LBL retracted its discovery claims.
Currently the heaviest (supposedly) discovered element is ununhexium. LBL is credited with the discovery of 16 transuranium elements, the majority of which have no known practical use.
Sources
- The Daily Californian (UC Berkeley student newspaper)
- http://www.physicstoday.org/pt/vol-54/iss-9/p20.html
- http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele118.html