I worked at a very successful research lab in the UC system for a few years. Nearly everything we did was fabricated. We would literally write proposals in a day or two and DARPA would throw 250k at us. We'd have some undergrad f around with a robot and video camera, write a paper and call it a day.

Everything was a business decision. I remember watching a PHD candidate being told he needed to stay another year because basically, we needed him to get grant money. I was an undergrad at the time and was offered a PHD track, but I declined because I didn't want that to be me.

The experience has left me with a deep distrust of academic science.