I don't recall signing any COI, but that was back in the day, almost before the printing press.
There was a Purdue professor named Herb Brown who took up a very unpopular stance on a topic that most thought had been resolved. He had legions of Indian grad students and post dogs at his beck and call and he used them mercilessly, and quite effectively in this war, which erupted at several conferences with shouting.
Herb was a rotund man who did some superb chemistry in his day and eventually won the Nobel, delayed probably because no one liked him. I THINK his point in all of this was not to take things as being "decided" when perhaps they weren't. He conceived some very elegant experiments, and his foes did as well, and the battle was epic. I imagine it is still studied for pedagogical purposes, the actual subject matter doesn't really matter much in any practical sense.
I don't think Herb relieved believed in his arguments, finally. Folks ended up agreeing to disagree and move on as it was consuming a LOT of resources on an aside. I found it fascinating. I was at one of these conferences when Herb came in and sat down next to me, he took up two chairs, and immediately started talking to me.
I was at another conference when another fellow who had written a book I was trying to decipher sat next to me and I said "I read your book!", and he responded "All of it?", and I had to admit I was struggling with parts of it. Jacob Israelachvilli, was his name.
I see he just recently passed away, very smart guy. If you want to read his book, here it is:
