I interpreted it the same way as you. I don't think you have to apologize for this interpretation. I know the standards in academia for treating subordinates li

I interpreted it the same way as you. I don't think you have to apologize for this interpretation. I know the standards in academia for treating subordinates like people are very, very low, but saying to somebody that their work is "rubbish" is not something that you should ever do, and especially not to somebody you have a lot of power over. The professor is very much in the wrong here, and the fact that the young chemist managed to keep her cool and not tell him to "go learn some fucking professional etiquette", while admirable, should not be a cause to celebrate the entire situation.