The Ohio State University has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle federal allegations that it failed to disclose a former researcher's inappropriate foreign affiliations with Chinese universities and state-run organizations while applying for and receiving taxpayer-funded research grants. The Justice Department alleged the university did not properly report these ties to NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) between 2012 and 2023.
According to the Justice Department, the university's grant applications required disclosure of any ties to foreign governments. The settlement resolves allegations that Ohio State did not disclose collaborations, affiliations, or funding received from the People's Republic of China (PRC) by certain employees working on NASA and NSF grants. Specifically, the university learned in 2019 that a researcher involved in NASA-funded work was part of China's Thousand Talents Program but did not inform NASA or NSF until 2023.
The Thousand Talents Program is described by the federal government as an initiative backed by Beijing to recruit individuals with expertise or access to overseas technology and intellectual property. The Justice Department also found that other Ohio State employees connected to the grants had relationships with Chinese entities or received Chinese funding.
Ohio State stated that it uncovered and investigated the researcher C.K. Shum's foreign affiliations internally and subsequently self-reported them to federal authorities. The university suspended Shum's principal investigator privileges, halted spending on the relevant federal awards, initiated disciplinary proceedings, and repaid the federal grant funds in question. Shum is no longer employed by Ohio State, and the university has cooperated with federal authorities.
"Ohio State takes national security seriously, and the university has long been recognized for its efforts to promote research integrity and security," Benjamin Johnson, chief communications officer at Ohio State, said in a statement. The university highlighted its safeguards, which include dedicated research compliance and secure research offices, mandatory conflict-of-interest and research security disclosure systems, and robust security and foreign influence training programs.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division stated, "American universities that benefit from the federal government’s support for scientific research and advancement must fully disclose all foreign funding in their grant applications. We will continue to hold accountable any university that fails to comply with disclosure requirements designed to protect research security and federally-funded scientific achievements."